About Us

The Libra Foundation takes UK students out to Romania to work in children’s residential centres, with children from Rroma communities and with underprivileged Romanian children. 

The residential centres house many children who are mentally or physically disabled. The children from the Rroma communities are often developmentally delayed, live in extreme poverty and are socially marginalised and the underprivileged Romanian children are socially deprived and often extremely poor.

Libra aims to provide resources and experiences to these Romanian children that the centres, schools and families cannot otherwise afford and which have a significant impact on the children’s wellbeing and that of their parents and carers.  This includes working with staff and carers to deliver training and workshops and encouraging local volunteering to make Libra's work sustainable.

The UK students that we take out learn commitment, loyalty, planning and organisation and develop a new awareness of the world around them as a result of experiencing some of the difficulties faced by disabled and deprived individuals.

How Does It Work?

There is a positive and competitive selection process to ensure that participants are well suited to the charity.  The sixth-form students selected pay a fee to join the trip to Romania for 2 weeks over a rolling 4-week programme in July.  Bursaries are available for outstanding candidates who cannot afford the fee. The months prior to the trip are spent in training and fundraising. Students are expected to raise £200 on top of the fee through charitable fund-raising to fund the activities that are undertaken in Romania.