Hands of Hope is a small Manx charity with four trustees. In north-east Romania, it works through its partner charity, Light for Children (Lumina Pentru Copii), which employs three Romanian staff.

Ruth and Chris Baker first volunteered in a Romanian orphanage in 2003. They found that some children had entered care because poverty left their parents unable to support them. That experience shaped the charity's purpose: to help families remain together wherever possible and to support children who have no secure family network.

Ruth and Chris are unpaid volunteers. They meet their own living and travel costs and spend up to six months each year in Romania, allowing the charity to stay closely involved with the people it supports.

• Since 2003, working with children and families in Romania

• Cobila Eight homes and a community centre built in the village

• 30 children Regular activities and teaching opportunities

• Dumeni Continuing support for Roma families

• 57 journeys Aid & support visits into Ukraine since the02022 full-scale invasion

Many rural families have little reliable income and face high food and household costs. Some villages still lack mains water and sewerage, while medicines, medical investigations and school essentials can be unaffordable. Children who fall behind may receive little extra help and risk leaving education without basic literacy or numeracy. Roma families are among those most likely to experience poverty, exclusion and barriers to education.

• Keeping families together: Housing, food parcels, medical help and practical social support.

• Helping children learn: One-to-one tuition, clothing, shoes, books and school equipment.

• Building community: Activities for children and parents at the Cobila community centre. Produce from the site's orchards and agricultural land is shared among families.

• Supporting children in state care: Help for young people in Dorohoi's residential apartments, including medicines, dental and optical care, glasses, speech therapy, textbooks, clothing and toiletries.

• Staying alongside young adults: Continuing support for care leavers who have limited family help and few local employment opportunities.

The charity's Romanian base is about 30minutes from the Ukrainian border. After Russia launched its full-scale
invasion on 24 February 2022, Hands of Hope first helped people crossing into
Romania. In March 2022 it joined a seven-van aid convoy into Ukraine. By 2026,
the charity had made 57 journeys into the country, from day trips to Chernivtsi
to longer journeys across Ukraine.
Hands of Hope has delivered or arrangedfood, clothing, medical supplies and educational materials. It supports
families from Kherson whose children have autism or other additional needs,
including families who remain in areas under regular attack. Aid parcels meet
immediate needs, while respite breaks in western Ukraine give families time to
rest in a safer place.
The charity has also improved the Wi-Finetwork and computer equipment at a village school and visited children's homes
and care homes for older people that are supporting displaced residents.

• Direct and personal: Support is based on first-hand knowledge and continuing relationships.

• Small and focused: A compact team works with trusted Romanian staff and directs help to clearly identified needs.

• Committed for the long term: Emergency aid is combined with housing, education and practical support that can improve a family's future.