Education for 50 disadvantaged Romanian children

We’d like to share the heartfelt story of Giovanni, an IBO Italia volunteer, after his visit to the Pinocchio Center in Panciu, Romania.

There were three of us—me, Aurora, and Patricia.
Patricia, a Romanian volunteer from Bucharest, knows the Pinocchio Center better than us. This visit was both a return home for her and a chance to show us what this special place is all about.

It takes about three hours to reach Panciu from Bucharest, crossing through rural Romania.
We passed through lively villages full of everyday life, and along newly built highways that stretch toward the horizon—signs of progress, of change, and of a country working hard to build a better future for its people.

Panciu is a small town, full of life. In one of its neighborhoods lives a Romani community where many children face difficult circumstances. That’s where the Pinocchio Center steps in.

Every day, it welcomes children from vulnerable backgrounds—offering them a warm meal, support with homework, creative activities, and above all, affection and care.
These children don’t just come to the Center. They run toward it.
Because for them, it’s not just a safe space—it’s a second home.

When society sidelines a community, it’s always the children who feel it first. You see it in their eyes the moment they meet you. They reach out not just for your hand, but for connection, for love. And the beautiful thing is—you don’t have to do anything special. Just being there is enough.

At the Center, helping with homework and reminding kids to brush their teeth is just as important as offering a kind word. Every action shows they matter. It’s a place where care and guidance go hand in hand, where play, responsibility, and trust grow together.

At the moment, the Center is supported dal vostro sostegno e by European Solidarity Corps projects. Seven European volunteers and three local ones work every day to keep it going. It’s a great ratio—but it’s not always like this. Stability is a constant challenge.

Our day passed between eating lunch with the children, watching them draw, build, explore—there’s even a computer lab—and of course, playing and laughing in the sunshine. It was a beautiful, lively, messy, unforgettable day.

Later in the afternoon, they went home—some walking in little groups, others picked up by parents, many still proudly wearing the colorful ink of the day’s adventures.
And so did we, marked just the same.

Driving back to Bucharest, one thought stayed with us:
A place like the Pinocchio Center deserves lasting support.
Not just to survive—but to truly thrive, and to continue being a source of love, learning, and dignity for the children of Panciu.

Today, the Pinocchio Center is supported by projects from the European Solidarity Corps, which allow international and Romanian volunteers to be there, day after day. Their presence brings life to the Center.
But these projects alone are not enough.

It’s thanks to people like you—those who care and choose to stand beside these children—that the Center can keep being what it is: a safe, warm, and empowering space where childhood is protected and potential can grow.

Let’s believe in their future. Let’s help build it—together.

Support the Pinocchio Center and make a real difference in a child’s life.