Although Romanian culture holds the elderly in great respect, those who have no family to care for them often live in poverty and isolation. With USAID assistance, a partnership between Christiana Charitable Association and the local city hall initiated a home care service currently assisting seventeen of the older and needier citizens of Vatra Dornei, Suceava County, Romania.

In addition to the direct assistance provided to recipients, the project has helped provide job opportunities for some of the younger inhabitants of Vatra Dornei. Liliana Candrea, an unemployed hospital nurse, learned from her former colleagues that USAID was funding a new activity and applied for a job. In Vatra Dornei, the city hall has had a similar social care program for elderly homeless people for the last two years. The cooperation between the two programs is permanent and USAID’s funding of $32,561 is being matched by the local authorities both financially and in time provided by city employees.