Matei Bals Hospital, Bucharest, Romania Project

Some of the Justri Team in Romania with a few of the staff who did the work

Dear JUSTRI supporter,

JUSTRI is a small group of doctors, nurses, HIV patients and others, from the UK, who work to help different groups of people with and working with those with HIV in various parts of the World, especially South-East Europe, the Middle East and India. We train the staff, foster interaction between the patients and those who care for them and also look at their local needs to benefit the patients.

HIV infection is a worldwide epidemic which is now very treatable and patients in the UK who take treatment can expect to live a relatively normal life. This is not true in many parts of the globe. For instance in Romania there are many new infections with HIV because of lack of knowledge of the general population on how the virus is spread, also there is a lot of stigma and fear about HIV which means that often patients do not get access to the best treatments and information. You can read a lot about HIV and these issues at www.aidsmap.info.

So back to what we are doing now……..

Below are some pictures from the abandoned babies’ room we refitted in November 2011 at Matei Bals Hospital in Bucharest Romania.

There are currently 7 abandoned babies being cared for at Matei Bals – 21 in the last year – a statistic that is increasing; there are many more, older children in the HIV clinic.

The people who work there are a fantastic, hard working, caring team but there are unfortunately few or no resources for the children’s rooms/ clothing/ nappies/ even basic medical equipment.

When we arrived they had only one thermometer for the entire children’s ward – no weighing scales and only 2 bottles/warmer/sterilizer for feeding.

Along with decorating the room we have now supplied them with thermometers, weighing scales, and new bottles/sterilization/warmer units.

It was a fantastic experience and there are many other rooms that still desperately need similar attention – ( if you look at the ‘before’ pictures you can see how all the children’s/babies rooms were before we started the project).

BEFORE

Before the project

AFTER

This is how the baby room looks now. Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image.

We are now sending toys and baby/children’s clothes to the hospital, as winter is coming on and it gets VERY cold in Romania. So any donations (however small) of clothing/toys/learning tools/nappies towards this ongoing project will be very much appreciated. It might be worth you trying knitting for the first time, baby clothes are easy and quick to make! Or you may want to give a financial donation, no matter how small, will help towards the cost of providing essential items (see donation button below)

Thank you very much for anything you can do to help.

TRI is a registered charity – number 1141599

Dr Mike Youle,

Director of JUSTRI