Romania's orphanage are still in a terrible state and are little better than they were in the early 90s, when images of the appalling conditions shocked the world and started numerous appeals and missions, according to the BBC.

The Beeb has reported on a fresh appeal for Romania's orphans, led by 84 year English woman, Jean Baker. She has been raising money for Romanian orphans for the last 20 years and said that in that time conditions in Romania's orphanages have improved little.

"We went down to the basement and to our horror there was a laundry full of dirty wet bedding and clothing and a big sink of washing to be done by hand," she said, quoted by the BBC. Jean Baker now wants to raise enough money to fix broken washing machines at a Romanian orphanages.

She works with NGO the White Cross Mission to provide help for orphans and hopes to raise the around EUR 2,000 needed to fix the machines by September, when the NGO has another visit to Romania scheduled, according to the BBC.

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Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com