People have forgotten this truth, said the fox,
But you must not forget it. You become forever responsible, for what you have tamed...
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 'Der kleine Prinz'

In the early 90's, dramatic pictures of handicapped children in the large state-owned institutions in Rumania were seen all over the world, and caused immense sadness and horror. The earlier communist government's attitude of contempt for handicapped members of society and other fringe groups led first of all after the collapse of the communist system to a large offer of help from abroad. In 1995, with financial support from the German Caritas and the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, a rehabilitation centre for handicapped children was established in Satu Mare, in the north west of Rumania.

At the end of 2001, a cry for help from Siebenbuergen reached Aktion Kleiner Prinz as the project threatened to collapse due to a shortage of funds. Originally the plan was to hand over the house to the Rumanians after six years of foreign financing. One had hoped that there would be a better economic situation in Eastern Europe by then. However, it was discovered that Rumanian financing would only be possible in the distant future. The original German project partners saw themselves unable to grant the money which would ensure a continuation of the unique project in Rumania.

In Rumania today it is more difficult than ten years ago to secure help for the handicapped. Through media reporting Rumania was then "in", and many promising projects could be begun.

The rehabilitation centre, St. Josef, offers early help for children up to seven years with development problems and handicaps. The offer of help to babies and children

Last year, over 150 children could benefit from the programme of support in the rehabilitation centre, which is financially aided by Aktion Kleiner Prinz as from 2002. It gave many children the opportunity to attend Kindergarten followed by school. The responsible therapists of the Rumanian centre work intensively together with colleagues from abroad and intend to train specialists for the handicapped in the future.