(P) The Hope Ball 2014, first charity ball organized by Hope and Homes for Children Romania

On November 8, at the Marble Hall of the National Military Circle, Hope and Homes for Children Romania organized its first charity ball, Hope Ball 2014. Business personalities, singers, actors and TV stars, athletes who have brought fame Romania in international competitions and important figures of Romanian social life will be present on Saturday, November 8, at 19:00, in Marble Hall, National Military Circle, at Hope Ball, the first charity ball organized by Hope and Homes for Children Romania, guest by Pro Tv journalists Amalia Enache and Cristian Leonte. The Hope Ball 2014 will be a spectacular event filled with an amazing performances. A theme of Fire and Ice will deliver stunning special effects, amazing entertainment and jaw-dropping surprises throughout the evening. Stunning necklace from Roberto Coin worn by celebrities including Charlize Theron and Oprah Winfrey, tickets to the Live Final of Vocea Romaniei, plus meet and greet backstage with the Judges, a chance to take on World Boxing Champion Mihai Leu and a trip to Italy for the Ultimate Maserati Experience are some of the lots auctioned at the Hope Ball 2014. "I closed down the first orphanage in 2000. I discovered a vocation. I knew that there were around 100,000 children in institutions and I wanted to get them out and bring them into families or family homes. To give them back the childhood that was being completely robbed from them. I gave up my dream of becoming a University Professor and replaced it with that of saving as many children as possible from a daily nightmare: surviving in institutions. What I do is not only social work. It’s also psychology. It’s also sociology. But, most of all, it’s management. I work with a team of professionals and I catalyse my colleagues’ force of action and impact. We have a fantastic motivation to develop as many family type services as possible for the most vulnerable children. We want a Romania without institutions for children. Without disability, without abuse and without trauma for those who, in a few years, will come to lead our country”, says Ştefan Dărăbuş, National Director of Hope and Homes for Children Romania. Hope and Homes for Children Romania has been working in Romania for over 15 years. We focus on transforming the lives of children abandoned in orphanages or at risk of being separated from their families. Through our efforts so far we have managed to save over 5,000 children from orphanages and to move them into loving family environments, as well as to prevent more than 18,000 children from being taken away from their parents and entering the endless cycle of institutionalisation. We base our entire work on a powerful core belief: that life in orphanages destroys children and childhoods, and gives them little chance of developing normally and living a full, happy life. Growing up in an environment wholly deprived of affection and individual attention leaves deep scars that only the love of a real family can ever truly heal. Starting from this core belief, our work branches out into all areas that influence Romania's still dysfunctional child protection system: 1. We close down old type institutions and move the children into family type environments where they can develop normally and happily. 2. We prevent children from being abandoned in institutions in the first place, by empowering their families to overcome hardships and stay together. 3. We support youngsters who have spent their entire childhoods in institutions to start fulfilling independent lives. 4. We train professionals in the child protection system and prepare them for supporting children in the new family type services. 5. We work closely with state authorities to make sure that the child protection system changes from the inside and that no child has to go through the nightmare of institutionalisation ever again.