TO ROMANIA WITH LOVE

It's good to talk, as BT's mawkish TV adverts tell us. Robert Walker thought so, but he did not foresee the deeds that would flow from a call to a charity in February 1992.

The Laing surveyor rang a Hertfordshire-based charity, To Romania With Aid, to volunteer a week's work renovating a rundown orphanage. In the space of his 15-minute call he had undertaken to find and fund a team of workers, building materials and transport.

Almost three years and more expeditions later, the 35-year-old who lives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch admits he is getting even deeper into uncharted waters. Early this year he and his Ashby Group adopted the 'No. 5' orphanage for girls in Bucharest which was in danger of being dropped from an over-stretched aid programme. Walker's group didn't want to abandon the 200 girls, aged seven to 17, they had met the previous September.

'It was the reaction we got from the kids that really spurred us on. We have got to know them as individuals and people,' he said, adding the building was not as bad as some. Its drains were blocked, the basement flooded in sewage, the roof leaked, electrics were in total disrepair, showers and most water taps didn't work, and beds, mattresses and hygiene were 'hard to describe'.

In a series of visits, 43 volunteers have sorted out the plumbing, done basic electrical repairs and patched the roof. The group has also installed an incinerator for disposal of sanitary towels which they have supplied. But renewal of the 1130m2 flat roof, which is springing new leaks, tops a long list of tasks for next year.

Most of the 20 local tradesmen and DIY-ers who made the first trip could not return due to the 'emotional strain', says Walker. They have been followed by his relatives and friends and craftsmen referred by TRWA. Three group members, two of them auxiliary nurses, have given up their jobs to work full-time in Bucharest on an education and health/hygiene programme for the orphans.

A total of œ40,000 in cash has been raised by the group to date, almost half of that this year, boosted by his œ1,000 prize as RICS Young Chartered Surveyor of the Year 1993 and a œ5,000 donation from Laing's charitable trust. But it is increasingly hard to go back to the same supporters or find new donors. Ashby is now trying to buy Romanian materials to help the local economy and save on transport costs and is trying out a local contractor.

The group also spreads a little aid outside the orphanages, where Romania's problems are possibly worse, he says. And there is resentment. Romanians abandoned these kids to the state because the Caecescu regime coerced couples to have children they couldn't support to boost the population. There is still no contraception and when they reach 17, the girls can be thrown on the streets to continue the vicious circle. The charity plans to set up a half-way house for these girls, while Walker's group is trying to start a small cottage industry.

He is now managing to find some time for his own two kids at home, but has no illusions about the enormity of what the group has taken on. 'If we can't keep the momentum going, we could mess up the lives of a lot of people,' he said, registering a plea for 'volunteers, materials, transport - especially help with the flat roof'. Then he heads off to ring a sponsor offering œ250 a year to support a young girl due to leave No. 5 soon.

n Rob Walker, To Romania With Aid Ashby Group, 34 Marlborough Way, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 2NN. Tel: (0602) 470710 (daytime); (0530) 411949 (evening).