The parish of St John Bosco has an established link with Cluj-Napoca in Romania.  Since 2004 parishioners have visited Cluj annually, to offer financial and practical help to families in need, and to donate clothes and useful goods (provided by parishioners) to families living in abject poverty.    The parish link also supports an orphanage which is home to 12 children under six years of age. 

During the annual visit parishioners undertake practical repair work on some of the makeshift constructions which are home to many families with very young children, and support the dedicated workers from the ‘Project to Feed the Poor’, which is based in the church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Manastur, Cluj Napoca, and run by the sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition.  We visit the people who have already received financial help from our parish Romania Link and are able to observe for ourselves the conditions in which many families live and the ways in which our donations have helped them.

Each year we visit the very young children living in an orphanage in Cluj.  These little ones are nurtured and loved by the sisters of the Congregation of the Mother of God, who help prepare them for eventual adoption.  All the children have a sad story behind them.   The standard of care in this orphanage is very high, and money donated by the parish link helps pay their winter heating bills.

Parishioners support these projects by fund raising throughout the year, by direct giving (regular small amounts may be donated monthly by direct debit) and by half of our Lenten alms.  Any help with fund raising is always welcome.

Although we see some harrowing sights during the visit and our heart strings are pulled by the conditions in which some families live, we also enjoy the friendship and warmth so generously offered by everyone we meet in Cluj.