Tausendfüssler - Centipede

Our active projects for Romania

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In the confusion following the revolution in Romania in December 1989, the terrible news about the living conditions of children in Romanian orphanages reached the Evangelic Reformed City Church in Vienna.  The minister of the Reformed Church in Mercurea Ciuc / Csikszereda told about an orphanage in the city of Keresztur where the heating functioned poorly, the children had no shoes and thus could not attend school.

In a first offer of help, we said we would bring each child three pair of shoes – house shoes, street shoes and winter shoes. The true extent of the living conditions of children living in orphanages became clear when a second letter from Rev. Istvan Hegyi arrived in Vienna telling about the scandalous conditions in a state-run orphanage in Sinmartin.  Too little food, no fresh milk, too little medicine, very little clothing and shoes, no toys, no bedding, too few diapers, no soap or detergent. 

There were 133 children between the age 6 months and 3 years in this orphanage in Sinmartin.  Rev. Hegyi further reported that the children received only one bowl of soup a day and that the 2 – 3 year old children weighed on the average just 6 kilograms. Clearly a disaster for the babies and young children!

The most important goal for Tausendfüssler – Centipede was to provide these children in the Sinmartin orphanage with foodstuffs, medicine, clothing and shoes to make it possible for them to grow up in humanely in dignity.

We found children in dire need not only in Sinmartin. Centipede had to provide humane aid to children in homes and schools in the Carpathian region of Harghita in the first year of its activities at nine other Romanian locations.

These locations are:

the Keresztur orphanage, the Olteni orphanage, the technical college Csiszereda "Szekely Karoly" (delivery of 25 computers for setting up a computer science class), the children's group of the miners' settlement of the kaolin mine Baile Harghita, primary school and kindergarten Csiksomlyo, primary school and kindergarten Csiksomortan, Elementary School and kindergarten Erdö Alja, Elementary School and kindergarten Csinod.