In years past, many Romanian orphans were adopted by western families. But international adoptions were banned and Romanian families are just not stepping forward to adopt their own orphans. The children end up in Romanian institutions and grow up without individual attention and care.
This sad video gives us a glimpse into the lives of Romanian orphans who have learned to live on their own and fend for themselves. The way these children have had to grow up is unimaginable to most of us. Because the Romanian institutions are crowded, they are taken care of more as a commodity than as people. That is not to say that there are not loving caregivers in Romanian institutions. But an institution simply cannot take the place of a home and a family.
