Gusti Moceanu, aged 14, jumped the train to go to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. He said to himself, "Maybe I'll find hope in Bucharest." Gusti's mother had died when he was very young. He managed to escape a life of abuse in his father's home and then later from a government-run orphanage his father had put him in.

 

After Gusti arrived in Bucharest, he was one of the first boys taken in to our Villa of Hope for Boys. As he grew and matured, Gusti began to display leadership qualities and become someone who could be counted on in any circumstance. Besides having natural artistic talent in drawing, we found Gusti was mechanically inclined, and, in his later teen years, he helped with repairs at some of our facilities. He became a positive role model for the younger boys.

 

Now, at age 23, Gusti has come full-circle in the 7+ years he has been at Orasul Sperantei. Once the child needing care, he now helps to take care of other children. His "care projects" have included the two boys burned in the sewer tunnel fire that we've cared for over the past 6 years. Gusti helped toilet-train one of the boys and changed his gauze bandages twice a day. He is now helping to care for a 6-year-old boy we've just taken off the streets. Gusti cares for him every morning and, along with others, is teaching this young boy how to speak, how to eat, how to play, and how to count. Gusti is our first young man who has enrolled in college. He also helps with the local youth group where some of our teens attend. We are so proud of him!