ABOUT US

THE STORY OF HOPE

After my return from Romania in October 2017, I asked myself a question, what will I do in Romania next year? How can I effectively apply my skills in a meaningful way if I am not a member of a club or organization?

I can organize, plan, drive anything with an engine and I have learned a lot about Romania and made many friends in my time there. There must be something that hasn’t been done before. These were my thoughts.

Within a few weeks the idea was born to borrow the veterinary ambulance (which I was involved in purchasing in 2015) from Romania Animal Rescue. I started to plan a tour of 2500km with the Ambulance, but what should it include and how to finance this?

Help on the spot is and has always been the focus for me so it was the logical conclusion to seek out places that receive help only occasionally or not at all but this on its own will not solve problems in the future so educational work was added to the list.

Where to get the biggest impact? Where the most people are so the idea evolved to involve some of the major attractions of the country. Castle Corvin, a landmark of the country, Sibiu, one of the most famous cities and Sighisoara. Discussions with authorities were successful and the support from official offices was simply indescribable.

The result is a tour that is unique and has an impressive effect. For the first time in Romanian and animal welfare history there was a veterinary ambulance in front of Castle Corvin, in front of one of the most famous churches in the country and the German high school in the centre of Sibiu and also at the foot of the medieval fortress in Sighisoara. In addition, no veterinary ambulance was ever in the mountains along the Transalpina and Transfargarasan highways treating animals there. A small idea became an incredible project.

I could not do all of this alone, I needed help so I started talking to friends about my idea. I asked Dr. Aurelian Stefan (Medical Director at RAR) if I can borrow some of his staff so as well as a vet from The Center Hope in Bucharest an assistant was also made available too. Alongside this, veterinarians from Family Vet in Craiova were also able to take part, performing castrations with the minimally invasive technique.

The most amazing thing is not what you can achieve with very little money, but the breathtaking response of the people and the team. 100% positive feedback and media interest from several TV and radio stations testifies to how much people want change to happen and how gratefully they accept the help.

Never before have I experienced so many positive reactions. This clearly demonstrates the need for exactly this type of work and for this reason the project is not just simply continued but also extended.

From the beginning Ruth Osborne from The Center of Hope in Bucharest and Dr. Calin Godeanu (independent Veterinarian from Craiova) joined my idea. This resulted in a core team with a completely different background and very broad core competences.

FRANK GORALSKI

A service engineer from Germany who has been actively volunteering in Romania since 2012. Initially involved in charity donation transports, private shelter renovations and castration projects in cooperation with Romania Animal Rescue he is now the founder of the Hope Tour project.

His main roles are planning, coordination, financing and execution, as well as documentation of the project.

" I started this project because I truely belive everybody can do something to make the difference.

And if you ask others to join suddenly the impact can be huge and lasting. "

RUTH OSBORNE

A veterinary nurse originally from the UK and resident in Romania since 2012. Currently a member of the team at The Center of Hope, Bucharest and Family vet, Craiova and works with Romania Animal Rescue on many of their welfare projects within Romania and internationally.

Her roles include the planning, organization and execution of the Hope Tour, as well as being the chief medical coordinator of the project

"I joined the Hope tour as it is the first project I have worked on that looks at animal welfare simultaneously from all angles as I really believe this is the answer to making lasting change."

CALIN GODEANU

An independent veterinarian from Romania with a small private practice and pharmacy located in Craiova. He volunteers his time and experience during the Tours to help teach other vets about large animal medicine as well as treating both the large and small animals we find on our travels.

He is the large animal medical coordinator of The Hope Tour.

“I chose to be part of the Hope team because it was a new experience for me but above all to leave animal owners a message! A small message that everyone can make a contribution to create a better world.”

Hope Tour 2018 - The Movie

WE NEED YOU

Alone we can only achieve a little, but if people can help us, we can do much more.

People who want to help, who are active, persistent and solution-oriented can be part of the project. Animal owners, veterinarians, medical assistants, photographers, documentary filmmakers, fundraisers and advertisers are only a small part of the people we need. Helping hands are always useful.

Just as these people helped us, you can do it too.

Alexandra Avrigeanu

Alex is a technician at The Center of Hope and she joined the tour from Ranca for several days, assisting the veterinarians in their work, and also took part in the education days in Sibiu and Sighisoara.

“I love animals and I believe education will bring a change in their welfare”

Dr. Ioana Preda

Ioana "Lexi" is a veterinarian at Family Vet in Craiova. Lexi performed castrations, vaccinations and general examinations from early morning to late evening in both Goiesti and Danciulesti.

“I want to help the animals as much as I can and I want to teach people how they can take better care of their pets”

Dr. Ioana Popescu

Ioana works as a veterinarian at Family Vet in Craiova and organized the education event in Stroiesti during which she also conducted castrations, emergency procedures, and general examinations.

“I want to join this project because I think Romania really needs it. We have a lot of dangerous diseases and a lot of animals die each year. This is a way of preventing it and making people aware of the danger of diseases”

Dr. Luiza Peter

Luiza is a veterinarian at the Center of Hope in Bucharest and supported the tour during the days on the Transalpina and the education days in Sibiu and Sighisoara.

“its very important to prevent contagious disease and I want owners to be more responsible for their animals”

Dr. Ella Lungu

Ella is a veterinarian at the Center of Hope and joined us during the three days in the shelters and at the education day in Ramnicu Sarat where she performed many consultations for local people.

“Helping others will make the future for animals in Romania brighter”

Philomena Lauft

Philomena is the youngest member of the team and it was her second time in Romania. She took part for the complete tour and completed all the work asked of her very conscientiously.

"I just want to help and during the tour I can help many animals and people who would otherwise not get help"

Dirk Pietz

Dirk is a manager of a company and comes from Germany. He is colleague and friend of Frank, and became curious about the project, deciding to sacrifice his holiday to take part.

"It is a meaningful project that actively provides on-site assistance and is absolutely worth supporting."

Renè Buringa

Renè is a warehouse operative from Germany and this was his second time in Romania. On his first visit he helped Frank with reconstruction of a private animal shelter.

"Of course I'm in and my girlfriend is coming too, I'm looking forward to helping where-ever help is needed"