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When Andre was three years old he was still in his cot, his umbilical cord had not been cut off and he had not learned to walk. This might be hard to believe but there are many orphans like Andre in Romania, who, despite efforts by the Government to improve their situation, still languish in hospitals or institutions waiting for a home.

But Andre was one of the fortunate ones. He has been taken into care by Orphans Aid International, an organization founded in New Zealand just under two years ago by Sue Van Schreven, in a bid to bring relief to children, particularly those without parents, around the world.

Orphans Aid International is one of a number of organizations dedicated to alleviating the plight of orphans in Romania, which has long had a problem dealing with orphans and abandoned children as a result of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's population-building policy.

In 2002, officials in Brussels demanded that Romania clean up its child welfare system as a condition for admission to the European Union. Romanian politicians formulated a law, written in collaboration with European Union advisers, which aimed to halt decades of mismanagement in just a few years.

The Government ruled that no child under 2 could live in an institution and began reuniting children with biological relatives or placing them in foster care. However, the problem with this was that there is little support in place to ensure the huge changes in the children's lives go smoothly.

For Van Schreven, aged 40, seeing children like Andre blossom at the ministry's Casa Kiwi Bucuriei (Kiwi House of Joy) in Turga Mures, which was established in 2004, is a realization of a long-time dream, which began when she was a young girl.

"When I was about 8, I really felt I was to do something with orphans, and as I grew older I thought about it often. But you carry on with your life and do different things. Even when I went to Bible College I told the Lord, that if there was anything I could do, it would be with orphans."

Mrs. Van Schreven, who lives in Invercargill, spent a few years as a youth pastor before traveling with her church team at the time to Romania. On her return she made up her mind to get serious about her desire to do something for unwanted children.

Everything came together quickly, and the new mission was able to build a seven-bedroom house, which is manned by a team of five Romanians. Three of the nine children, most of whom Orphans Aid took in from an old maternity hospital, have been successfully fostered out. The home will eventually house 10 or 12 children.

Van Schreven acknowledges that the pressure on her to get the project going was immense. A "Godsend" came and her work was given a huge boost when she won a Vodafone World Of Difference Award last year, covering her salary and expenses for a year. Now she is looking to expand Orphans Aid's projects through fund-raising and donor support. The ministry plans to rent a number of apartments where up to four children can be cared for by a "mum and a dad".

"We saw children over there on one of our trips who were 15 or 16 but who I initially thought were 6 or 7 ... We saw kids with Aids left in the corner of a hospital," she said. "So there is a huge need.

"People can think the problem has moved on, but it is very much still there. The Government is trying to encourage fostering, but a lot of the problem is with resources.

There is a real pressure on the Government to change things before becoming part of the European Union next year.

"Last December we saw nine houses that had been built by the Government for some orphans. They're taking kids out of these orphanages and putting them in these new homes, which only have funding for the next 18 months. They have also been trying to parcel the older children out into the community but there's a real problem because they haven't the social workers and the kids aren't followed up on.

"There are some horrendous stories of what has been happening to some of these children who have been fostered out, such as kids being chained up for labor." Orphans Aid will also soon have a New Zealand couple based permanently in Romania.

"We've just got such an opportunity to have an impact on a large number of children, who will be raised in a Christian environment and all we need is the resources to do it. The people are there, the connections are there - honestly, it's really that simple.

"Our goal this year would be to see another 50 children's lives radically changed from being in a cot where there is nobody to look after them to having a mum and a dad - someone to give them a hug and tell them how wonderful they are.

"We want to find them homes locally if we can, but if not we'll look after them for the rest of their lives. Our motive is to love the kids and to show them Jesus in action. The obvious spin-off is, as with your own kids, you expect them to know the Lord.

"There's a special place in God's heart for the orphans and the underprivileged, and really there is an open door for us to go into some of these places and the only thing that's stopping us is a lack of willingness or compassion." Van Schreven says that Orphans Aid, a registered charitable trust, has been really encouraged by the support received so far, but still needs a lot more help because it is also planning to start a home for street kids in Russia sometime this year.

For more information about Orphans Aid International, log onto: orphansaidinternational.org or follow the link below.

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