Until recently, Joy worked as a consultant community paediatrician, specialising in children with special needs and child protection. In 1997, as she approached retirement, one of the clergy encouraged her to help with a health initiative in Romania.

"It was by no means clear to me that my experience could be translated to the Romanian situation. I needed to find out how their health care system worked, what provisions there were for children with special needs, and the kind of help that was needed."

Alongside the health initiative is a reconciliation centre, trying to bring people together across the divides of race, language, politics and religion. Whilst initially set up by a British couple and supported financially by several UK charities and individuals, both projects are now staffed by a hard-working local team.

"I found this Chinese proverb on the wall:

If you are thinking one year ahead, plant seed.
If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree.
If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people.

It was clear that this sentiment was at the heart of the projects."

The centre has established links with Lancaster University, and a number of Romanian nurses are now studying in the UK. A School of Nursing is being established in Sibiu, and several British nurses have been over to run courses.

"Whilst there, I was asked to do the clinic at Chirpar, a village some 75km from Sibiu. This was a complete eye-opener. The village street was a deeply rutted quagmire. The clinic was primitive and ill-equipped."

"It felt as though the whole village had turned out to see us. But we had few drugs, and most people could not afford to buy anything we prescribed."

During her stay, Joy saw many children with diseases of poverty such as TB, rickets, consumption, syphilis and round worms. She was struck by the poor facilities in the hospitals, the restricted visiting hours, and the lack of toys and pictures. It was reminiscent of the UK 30 years ago.

"We also did two home visits. One of these was to an old lady of 70, who was of gypsy extraction and too ill to come to the clinic. She had a serious chest infection and should have been admitted to hospital on both medical and social grounds, as her home was a tumble-down hut infested with rats. I was told that the hospital would not take her as she was poor and dirty, and treatment was only free if you could bribe the doctor!"

"The other home visit was to see a prematurely-born baby, now 4 months old. He had become unsettled since changing to milk from a new cow, after the original went to another village. His parents wanted to know whether to use goats milk instead. This is not a problem one encounters in Surrey!"

"Back in Sibiu, I watched a literacy class for children with Downs syndrome, set up by a parent, Nuti. She is gentle and kind, but desperately needs input from someone with experience teaching special needs children."

"There is still much to do in Romania, and Romanians still need our help."

If you feel you may be able to help, in particular if you are able to assist in running a short course on testing hearing or child protection or developmental assessment; or if you are a special needs teacher who could spare some time to help Nuti, please contact Dr. Joy Moore (813999)