An emotional return to Romania

By Simon Errington, CEO

I had the privilege of travelling to Romania in April. This wasn't just another visit. I returned to Cernavoda and the St Lawrence Hospice - the centre where Children in Distress began just over 35 years ago.

For many, this is part of our history but, for me, the visit was also something deeply personal. My father, Eddie Errington, was one of the founding members who travelled from the UK in 1990 to help Romanian children who had been abandoned and forgotten, many of them living with HIV and aids. I grew up hearing about this work.

Whist in Cernavoda, I visited my father's resting place. Growing up, I knew what he had been part of. But visiting this special place was incredibly powerful and made me feel it in a completely different way. This wasn’t just something he did. It was something he believed in. A belief that every child — no matter their circumstances — deserves care, dignity, and love.

One of the most moving parts of this visit was having the privilege to meet some of the volunteers who were here at the very beginning of Children in Distress. They don’t describe themselves as extraordinary. But what they did was. In the early 1990s, they travelled across Europe into the unknown — to care for the most vulnerable children in need at a time when fear and stigma were overwhelming.

Listening to their stories, one thing really stayed with me: They didn’t come with all the answers. They simply chose not to look away. Later, I visited the vaults — a place of remembrance. It’s a quiet, deeply reflective space. A place that honours the children who didn’t survive those early years. At the beginning of this work, many of the children arriving at the St Lawrence Hospice were already incredibly unwell. Some had been abandoned because of fear and misunderstanding. Not all of them could be saved.

But they were cared for. They were known. They were loved. Standing there, I was reminded that behind every name is a life… a story… a child. And that remembrance matters. It’s what shapes why we continue this work today.

Spending time in Cernavoda has really brought home how far things have come for us as a charity. What began in 1990 as an emergency response has grown into long-term support for children and families. Today, Children in Distress works in both Romania and the UK — supporting education, life skills, wellbeing and communities.

The challenges may look different now but the belief at the heart of it all hasn’t changed: Every child deserves the chance to thrive and to be loved for who they are.