Education for 50 disadvantaged Romanian children

Sorin^* is born in 1992 in Panciu, in a family that cannot offer him what he desires and dreams, in a small house halfway between the Centre Pinocchio and the volunteers' home. A strategic position for being immediately involved in the creative workshops, in the afterschool activities and in the international atmosphere you breathe at the Centre.

Sorin is a young boy, shy and sometimes insecure; nonetheless at the Centre Pinocchio, little by little, he finds out that he can count on his sport skills and on his talent for theatre, that confrontation is an interesting way to discover oneself and other people.

Like a lot of young boys, he dreams to become a football player. Even though he's selected for a sports' school, he has to deal with his first huge disillusion: his family cannot afford the school expenses. The same happens with the end-of-the-school year party.

However, one surrender after another, Sorin also finds some open doors in his way. The Centre Pinocchio offers him the opportunity to take part in two youth exchange experiences: he flies in Italy for short periods, gets in touch with a lot of youngsters, learns chunks of a foreign language, watches his first football match in a real stadium. He continues attending the Centre, always having in mind how would it be to live far from Panciu. A thought blocks him: he has a little brother, Tibi^*, that he takes care of since he was a baby. From diaper change to meals, from lullabies to the first day at the Centre Pinocchio. For Tibi, Sorin is half a brother, half a father.

Among the international volunteers in Panciu, one is special for Sorin. Three years ago they moved to Bucharest together, where he had the opportunity (and the capacity) to get a diploma in floor tiling. Today he works within a team of professional tilers. But he's used to say that this is only the beginning. The will to build up new things and the thirst of discovering can bring you everywhere.

Now its' Tibi's turn. He's 8 years old, lives in a small house halfway between the Centre Pinocchio and the volunteers' home. An older brother living in Bucharest, the staff and the volunteers of the Centre to speak with. The creative workshops, the afterschool activities, the games, the numbers and the letters. And a new story to write!

^{*The names are invented for privacy reasons.}