Catalina S. was born in 2000 to a simple family of farm workers. Unfortunately, both parents used to be alcohol users and oftentimes Catalina and her siblings (Marian, Andreea, Cosmina) struggled to survive in a harmful environment.

Catalina's father left the country in search for work but in 2010 local authorities contacted the family with the news that he passed away. The mother was left without any form of financial support, only able to work the fields of nearby villagers for her daily bread. Tragically, just months after her husband passed away, she fell out of a horse drawn buggy and suffered injuries that led to her death.

In the light of all these tragic events, local authorities asked us to take Catalina into our family. She moved to our center in 2010 and slowly adjusted to the new environment where she would spend her childhood and adolescence. We are grateful to our Lord for making a way for Catalina to overcome the tragic events in her life and grow up to be an independent young woman.

Throughout her years at Hand of Help she remained in contact with her siblings and visited them often. This is the reason why her sister decided to ask her to move with her and her family. Catalina was thrilled to start a new chapter in her life and agreed to move to her sister's and start a job there. Throughout her years with us, Catalina developed a passion for cooking and hopes to be able to take a course in gastronomy and find a job in this field where she could also practice the things she learned in our center; everyone knew to find her in the kitchen, always looking closely at our chefs and trying to help wherever she could. Thank you for making stories like these possible and may our God amply reward all your sacrifice!