The picture above represents the common situation in a lot of hospitals in Romania. Doctors and nurses due to lack of protective equipment in the fight against COVID 19, need to wash their disposable face masks. It is a sad situation and can lead to a catastrophe. Hospitals overwhelmed with sick, dying people and no one to treat them because medical staff have caught it too. Unfortunately, this prediction is not far off reality because one the main hospital in the Northern city of Suceava, has already been closed for decontamination due to the fact that almost all the staff contracted the virus.

I am a concerned citizen, but also a concerned daughter and a concerned human being who is extremely anxious for her parents and everyone in my home city. Thankfully, I am now safe in Shanghai, China and I have the means and the desire to help better from here.

This is a fundraising campaign to obtain the necessary resources to provide medical staff who work in "The county hospital Pitesti" (Spitalul Judetean Arges) and possibly ((if the final budget allows it) other hospitals situated in Pitesti and Stefanesti , Romania with protective medical equipment. This equipment is highly needed nowadays due to patients possibly being infected with COVID 19.

What is the situation in Romania regarding COVID 19? The truth of the matter is that we don't know for sure. The official figures say that in my county, Judetul Arges, there are no cases of COVID 19, but none of the hospitals have or ever had testing kits and no one has actually carried out any tests throughout the entire county. This makes it even more dangerous for the medical staff in any hospital in Pitesti and its surroundings because anyone who is infected or has come in contact with an infected person can be visiting hospitals for normal check-ups.

The reason for worrying is also that throughout the country, there are already 1000 confirmed cases or more, among which approximately 100 are medical staff. As I mentioned at the beginning, a whole hospital in Suceava, a Northern city of Romania, had to be closed down because most of the medical staff got infected due to a lack of equipment.

The situation with the lack of equipment is similar in the whole country. The virus will spread like wildfire if medical staff do not receive protective gear. So far the authorities have seemed to be uninterested or just not willing to buy and supply hospitals with what is needed to keep COVID 19 under control and to protect doctors and nurses who are key in saving people's lives.

Thus, furious at the authorities, but also extremely anxious and afraid that it is just a matter of time before the situation in Romania will be alike that in Italy and France, and hundreds of deaths will occur in my county and city, I have decided to make a fundraising and do my best to help procure medical equipment and send it directly to hospitals.

Due to the fact that I am only an individual, I can do my best to create a fundraising and help with the resources received first, people in my city and county. I do care about the situation and people's lives throughout Romania, but in cases of emergency due to my limited capacities my loved ones and the people in the home city and county come as a priority.

Due to the fact that I live in Shanghai I have access to suppliers that can provide special FFP2 and FFP3 masks, protective goggles and medical protective overalls. The suppliers of these goods have provided a CE for me to check and make sure that it is actually legal and safe to send these products to Romania.

My aim is to buy at least 1000 special masks that offer 95% protection when in close proximity to the virus. 1000 is the minimum number needed for the order to be placed.

• The price of one such mask is 50 to 60 RMB. (around 6 to 7 euros)

I also want to buy normal surgical masks, protective medical overalls and protective goggles.

• The price of the normal mask is 2.8 to 4 RMB (around 0.5-1 euros).
• The minimum price for the overalls is 70 to 80 RMB. = (around 10-11 euros).
• The protective goggles are 30 to 40 RMB.= (around 4-5 euros).

These prices are estimated based on current market prices.

The goal is to raise as much as possible to be able to send the special masks (minimum 50 000 RMB, or 6250 euros) and hopefully also enough to buy goggles, overalls and extra surgical masks. In case the necessary sum for purchasing the 1000 special masks will not be raised, the money donated will still be used to purchase normal surgical masks, protective overalls and goggles.

On top of the cost for purchasing the protective equipment, from the donations received I will also cover the transportation cost, which will depend on the final weight of the package, but I estimate it to be around 2000 or 3000 RMB =250 or 375 euros

Other costs associated with this fundraising project are the VAT that needs to be paid once the equipment arrives in Romania from China and the 'Gogetfunding' platform tax, which will be 4% of the final donated sum.

I commit myself to sharing my contact details with my donors and I want to keep informed and in check with all the purchases made, the fundraising plan, the transportation and the delivery and the sharing of the equipment to medical staff. I will share pictures of the equipment purchased, the packages made and the arrival of the packages. I will also rely on medical staff to take pictures and a video of when they receive the medical equipment and I will make it public!

To add to this, I have decided to reward potential generous donors, and I want to create a small thank-you project in the summer time when I will probably be able to return to my home city for holidays if the whole nightmare with COVID 19 ends.

Each generous donor, who gives a sum of 25 or more euros will receive by the end of summer 2020 a handcrafted card/ postcard made by me, which will contain a thank you message and signature from one of the doctors or nurses who received protective equipment.

So I am asking you, kind donors, who probably know what it is like to be afraid of the virus and of its effects to donate as much as you can to help me buy the protective equipment for medical staff. Please, help me save doctors and nurses or at least give them the appropriate protective gear they need before going into the battle with this dangerous, unpredictable virus. Help me help them so that they in turn can keep treating and saving the people in my city, my childhood friends, my aunts and uncles, my neighbors, my teachers, my parents, my grandparents and everyone else!

Please donate and help me make a difference. One more mask, one more overall and one more pair of goggles matter!

The last picture shows the dire situation in hospitals and the lack of equipment. The patient below has contracted COVID 19 and he was on his way to be transferred from a hospital in Neamt to a hospital in Iasi. He was supposed to be completely isolated and transported inside an impervious sheet.This is another proof of the lack of necessary equipment in hospitals in Romania.

Thus, I ask you to help me alleviate the nightmare and to help me buy the equipment needed! Donate and contribute to protecting doctors and nurses first, who can treat, save and protect people at large.

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