A promise to spend Christmas with the kids at the house initiated the next scheduled trip to Romania: September through December 2006. During this trip; motivated by growing concerns about the transitional house’s stability and its American leadership’s financial solvency; Mihaela, Chris and Dusty, began planning their own organization to care for these children. Using the knowledge gained from their experience with the transitional house and Mihaela’s Romania contacts; Dusty and Chris returned to the United States to begin laying the ground work. Mihaela took a job as executive director at a prestigious day care organization for handicapped children in Bucharest; all the while, volunteering her time and resources to help Ana’s Children get started. With the support of friends and family and the expertise of Mihaela, in February of 2007, Ana’s Children was founded to care for the street-children of Bucharest, Romania.
Additional trips to other countries, previously planned, now lost their allure and just a short time later, in the Spring of 2006, Dusty and Chris found themselves back in Romania. There they, again, dedicated themselves to helping with whatever time and money they had; providing positive role-models for the kids and helping fix up the house that the children called home.
This trip also afforded them the opportunity to adopt a street family whose parents had both died. The Moldovan children gratefully received food as well as financial support furnished first by Chris and Dusty and later, also supplemented by friends and family in the U.S. touched by their stories.
During this second trip, their friendship with Mihaela grew and they became aware of her dedication and love of the children. There also began discussions about the financial struggles of that particular transitional house; stimulating Chris and Dusty to begin to seriously contemplate how they could take more active roles to provide security and consistent care for both the kids in the home and those still out on the street.
