Our Founder - Noreen O'Gorman
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Born in County Clare, Ireland, Noreen worked as a specialist nurse in Community Nursing with an interest and training in HIV/AIDS and palliative care.
She came to Romania in 1988 as a volunteer with a British charity. She got to know about the situation locally and witnessed the appalling suffering of sick children, who were living in terrible poverty and dying in pain without the help of a doctor or nurse. She made a commitment to these children that she would return to help them. She resigned from her job as a community nurse in London and, in 1999, returned to Romania. In June 2000, Noreen, together with two local Romanians, set up their own charity registered in Romania as Fundatia Cuvioasa Paraschiva. It is the outstanding work and dedication of this charity which Noreen’s Kids supports.
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With the help of our generous supporters, the charity is now involved with over 300 families and caring for their sick children, many of whom suffer from AIDS or cancer.
How the children got AIDS
In the late 1980’s just before the revolution many abandoned children were given small blood transfusions in mistaken treatment for weakness and weight loss, probably because of poor feeding.
Unfortunately some of the blood was infected with HIV and/or hepatitis virus. Altogether nearly 10,000 children over the whole country, particularly in some districts, were infected with HIV.
Slobozia and the surrounding area is in one of the poorest regions of Romania and there were many children infected. There is still a huge need for support of poor families with children suffering from AIDS and other serious illnesses, including sometimes the provision of palliative care.
How the children got AIDS
In the late 1980’s just before the revolution many abandoned children were given small blood transfusions in mistaken treatment for weakness and weight loss, probably because of poor feeding.
Unfortunately some of the blood was infected with HIV and/or hepatitis virus. Altogether nearly 10,000 children over the whole country, particularly in some districts, were infected with HIV.
Slobozia and the surrounding area is in one of the poorest regions of Romania and there were many children infected. There is still a huge need for support of poor families with children suffering from AIDS and other serious illnesses, including sometimes the provision of palliative care.
