Visit of H.E. Richard Ralph

British Ambassador to Romania

Friday 27th July 2001
The Ambassador is greeted by the Mayor of Fintinele
Crowds line the streets of Fintinele
The Ambassador with the children of Fintinele outside the hospital.
The Ambassador meets a resident in the hospital
The Ambassador arrives at Ilisesti
The Ambassador lays a stone to mark the start of construction work on the new Nursing and Respite Care home at Ilisesti

Around the spade left to right :

Laurence Biggs, Trustee
The Mayor of Ilisesti
The Ambassador
Peter Halden, Trustee
Stefan Puscasu, Bethesda Foundation

"I’ve been impressed and uplifted by what I have seen today. Having seen the charity hospital in Fintinele, one finds it hard to believe the pictures of conditions just five years ago. This, combined with the plans for the new respite care home, strike me as a wonderful example of partnership between individuals and charitable organisations in our two countries, which add a whole new dimension to the links between Britain and Romania.

I’m proud of my compatriots in Britain who have given so much of their time, and indeed their goods, to help people less fortunate than themselves. This speaks eloquently of a vibrant and caring society in our country, and will be a shining example for Romanians in their efforts to recreate a civilised and compassionate society of their own after the aberration of the last fifty years."

H E Richard Ralph at the end of his visit to our projects in Suceava County