In the second blog from our Frontline series, Vodafone World of Difference winner Beth Yorath leaves the comfort of Western luxury to return to Romania where eight years ago she met a little girl, named Andrea.

So, with a couple of days before I get on a plane, I am in the middle of mayhem at the moment; both physically and mentally. Leaving behind the world of working for a commercial company and my very Western lifestyle with all the things in life that I love, to become a charity employee in Romania is hard work but it is already beginning to cause an unexpected mindshift within me too.

Everyone has been asking me if I’m excited to be going to do something I’m so passionate about and I have answered that of course I am. In reality though, with all that’s been going on in leaving work, packing, (I am writing this whilst surrounded by boxes) saying goodbye to people etc, I have, at times, questioned why I'm doing this. Well the answer was in a book I found whilst packing - it was a sharp reminder of the beginnings of my passion for Romania and in particular, Little John's House (LJH). I think it’s a good place to start my story to you all.

On my first ever visit there, over eight years ago now, I wrote a daily journal and got all the children to draw me pictures and write passages in the book. As I was packing it away, I took some time to have a read and reminisce about the good times I had there on the trip which seems like a life time ago. Then I came across the one entry which quite possibly changed my life. It helped me to realise the real story behind the smiling little girl who sat there happily playing at our Summer school.

Here it is: "My name is Andrea. Well about me, I'm 13. I have two sisters, Andrada and Iulia and they are ill. My mother is 33 and her name is Daniella. She is ill. My father is dead. He died two years ago. I like very much at Little John's House. Mrs Mags is very, very good. I have a friend in England and a photo with her. You want to live in Romania? Love for you Andrea."

Well the story behind that is that this 13-year-old girl (now grown up of course) spends much of her life looking after her mother who is desperately ill with TB. She also attends college and is a good student who speaks English fluently. In her 'spare' time, she visits her twin sisters who live at Little John's House. She loves them dearly and wishes she could be with them more often. The reality of it is that she needs LJH as much as her sisters do - it is an opportunity for her to enjoy spending time with them without the responsibility of looking after them - after all caring for her mum is more than enough for her young life. The twins both have severe autism and looking after one of them full-time would be more than anyone could cope with on their - let alone two. If we could no longer care for them, it is unlikely she could continue to see them - it would break her heart – and ours too.

This is the only reminder I need to keep me on the path to Romania - she inspired me all those years ago and still does. After all, she needed LJH then and she needs it now - as do her sisters of course. So anything I can do to prolong this wonderful home for these children, their families and all the others who benefit from it, will be a small contribution compared to the daily struggle of the many lives it touches.
So in reply (albeit eight years later), yes Andrea, I do want to live in Romania!

For those who would like to know a bit more about the twins mentioned here or any of the other children we look after, visit www.littlejohnshouse.org. 

As part of the Vodafone Foundation World of Difference International Programme Beth Yorath is volunteering with Orphan Aid in Romania, a charity that finds permanent, loving homes for abandoned orphans