On Monday night I attended the private screening of Natalie Pinkham's new documentary 'The Lost Orphan: A Home For Mirela'.
It is the follow up to the 2011 documentary 'The Lost Orphan: Mirela's Story' which saw the Sky Sports F1 presenter travel to Romania in search of a little girl who had captured her heart 12 years earlier while volunteering at a children's institution.
As you may have guessed from the title of the documentary, her name is Mirela. She was a happy and cheeky toddler when Natalie first met her in 1999 but when she was eventually tracked down three years ago, after a long and difficult search, she was found living in a two bedroom flat with 11 other children and was tied to a radiator. As well as the terrible and cramped living conditions, years of neglect in the institutional care system had left her severely disabled.
She couldn't talk, struggled to walk and would even hit herself. Shocked by the visit, Natalie vowed to find Mirela a home, somewhere she could be safe and have an improved quality of life. There was no way of undoing the effects of the past, but she could help make a happier and more comfortable future for the teenager.
Natalie decided to take on the challenge of building a house for Mirela, as well as her siblings and several other children from the local institution. 'A Home for Mirela' documents her attempts to personally raise the necessary £187,000 required to build the new home.
During the two-year process, Natalie contacted Hope and Homes for Children - an organisation that is working to close all children's institutions worldwide - and they decided to join the project and help build a safe and comfortable environment for the 12 children.
It was a long and difficult journey but they managed to reach the goal. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli helped to get the ball rolling and events were held at the House of Commons with MP Caroline Nokes, the Mahiki nightclub and the Rye House kart circuit. Natalie also launched a Twitter campaign, held online auctions and climbed ten peaks in ten hours.
The documentary is incredibly inspiring and also very moving. There are also some scenes that are quite distressing. Watching it made me appreciate the things I have even more. Not only my personal belongings like the laptop I'm currently typing this on or my beloved smartphone, but also simple things like being able to talk and walk with ease. These are things that Mirela can't and, because of her upbringing in institutional care, may never be able to do.
It was incredible to watch the work of Natalie and Hope and Homes for Children - with their passion and determination, seeing their hard work pay off and the happiness that it brought Mirela when she moved in last December. It was also fantastic to see so many people at the private screening event, at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square, to support the organisation and the documentary.
It was very humbling to be invited and it was a lovely evening, meeting great people, getting the chance to learn more about this incredible organisation and seeing the very touching documentary. I definitely recommend that you watch it.
For more information on Hope and Homes for Children, check out their website. To learn how to get involved, go here.
'The Lost Orphan: A Home For Mirela' aired on Wednesday 5th March on Channel 5. If you missed it, you can watch it here: http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-lost-orphan-a-home-for-mirela/episodes/the-lost-orphan-a-home-for-mirela
UPDATE - Unfortunately Mirela passed away suddenly on Monday March 10th 2014. Rest in peace.
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| © Steve Coffey/HHC |
As you may have guessed from the title of the documentary, her name is Mirela. She was a happy and cheeky toddler when Natalie first met her in 1999 but when she was eventually tracked down three years ago, after a long and difficult search, she was found living in a two bedroom flat with 11 other children and was tied to a radiator. As well as the terrible and cramped living conditions, years of neglect in the institutional care system had left her severely disabled.
 |
| © Tom Chambers/Popkorn |
During the two-year process, Natalie contacted Hope and Homes for Children - an organisation that is working to close all children's institutions worldwide - and they decided to join the project and help build a safe and comfortable environment for the 12 children.
It was a long and difficult journey but they managed to reach the goal. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli helped to get the ball rolling and events were held at the House of Commons with MP Caroline Nokes, the Mahiki nightclub and the Rye House kart circuit. Natalie also launched a Twitter campaign, held online auctions and climbed ten peaks in ten hours.
The documentary is incredibly inspiring and also very moving. There are also some scenes that are quite distressing. Watching it made me appreciate the things I have even more. Not only my personal belongings like the laptop I'm currently typing this on or my beloved smartphone, but also simple things like being able to talk and walk with ease. These are things that Mirela can't and, because of her upbringing in institutional care, may never be able to do.
 |
| © Hope and Homes for Children |
It was incredible to watch the work of Natalie and Hope and Homes for Children - with their passion and determination, seeing their hard work pay off and the happiness that it brought Mirela when she moved in last December. It was also fantastic to see so many people at the private screening event, at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square, to support the organisation and the documentary.
It was very humbling to be invited and it was a lovely evening, meeting great people, getting the chance to learn more about this incredible organisation and seeing the very touching documentary. I definitely recommend that you watch it.
For more information on Hope and Homes for Children, check out their website. To learn how to get involved, go here.
'The Lost Orphan: A Home For Mirela' aired on Wednesday 5th March on Channel 5. If you missed it, you can watch it here: http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-lost-orphan-a-home-for-mirela/episodes/the-lost-orphan-a-home-for-mirela
UPDATE - Unfortunately Mirela passed away suddenly on Monday March 10th 2014. Rest in peace.
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