Romania Sponsorship
Population: 21,848,504
Life Expectancy: 74 years
Population Below Poverty Line: 21%
Annual Income: $7,840
Romania is located in southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine. Romania is home to over half a million Roma or “gypsies.” The Roma are racially discriminated against because of their slavery heritage. This makes it difficult for them to be educated or trained, leading to little chance of employment. Approximately 70% of the Roma population lives off of less than $4.30 a day.
Due to the rejection by society, Roma’s ghetto communities’ risk of poverty is three times higher. The living conditions are devastating. Often, their homes are not connected to electricity, heat or appropriate plumbing leaving the children living in squalor with no ways to get clean. The children in the gypsy villages are not afforded the ability to attend school and therefore are left to become beggars on the streets.