The family's children, comprised of Irina Elena, Dumitru Alexandru, Andreea, Iosif Stefan and Maria Gabriela, have touched the hearts of their village neighbors after their father lost a long battle with cancer. Immediately after burying her husband, the siblings' mother left her home and entrusted Irina, at only 12 years of age, with the care and provision of her brothers and sisters.

For a whole month, the children lived on their neighbors' compassion. The mother collected all the state allowance for the children and spent it on alcohol. When they were left with no electricity and the living environment became inhumane, they were forced to abandon school also. Some of you may remember Irina, Alexandru and Andreea -- they have been a part of Hand of Help's family before (for three years) when their father left abroad for work and their mother, an alcoholic back then too, refused to take care of them. Upon his return, he found a job near his house and together with his wife, decided to take their children back home. We continued to support them and with our contributors' help, we were even able to bless them with a cow. Everything seemed to be working out well in their family until the father got sick and was unable to function, spending all his days in bed. Heart wrenched and having to cope with his inability to support his family, the father was also faced with his wife leaving him and the children for days. Even though the older children tried their best at taking care of him and the family (a task no child should be put up to), their efforts were soon to cease as they were faced with a new abandonment, their father's death.

The children are back in school now. Alexandru is suffering from strabismus and needs special medical care and his younger siblings will need one on one speech classes (having been deprived of proper development conditions, they manifest major speech problems).

Please keep these children in your prayers! They have found comfort now and they can rejoice in the safety and hope they have in Jesus.