Poverty has no lobby —
but great perseverance.

Everything began after the fall of the Iron Curtain in December 1989. Our aid, which started in 1990 as a spontaneous impulse to offer help for self-help, has evolved over 34 years into enduring relationships with people living in unimaginable poverty.

Every year, we organize multiple aid trips to Sighișoara in the Romanian region of Transylvania. With a refrigerated van loaded with donated goods - food, clothing, school supplies, toys, hygiene items, furniture, and much more - we drive the 1,700 kilometers to Transylvania to organize the distribution of aid on-site, to accompany the children and families we support, and to initiate or continue joint projects.

We bring aid goods from Germany to those who live in the greatest need and poverty. But we also support those whom we know are genuinely seeking a way out and who need help as a „boost,“ to support them on their path. In addition, we want to reach the children and open up new perspectives for them through scholarships, enable school participation, and strengthen them so that they can someday help themselves.

Ingrid Thoma, together with her husband Harald (unfortunately deceased in 2003), founded the Romania Aid in 1990, and it continues to be successfully managed today in the second generation by their son Ralf and their daughter-in-law Annekatrin. In addition to many private supporters in Germany, we have been supported for over 15 years by the Lions Club am Tegernsee.

We are not organized as a relief organization. Instead, we conduct our aid work entirely on a private, voluntary basis and are financed exclusively through donations from our own circle of friends and acquaintances - without financial support from government subsidies. This means that 100% of donated money arrives where it belongs: directly with the people!

Impact

Help for self-help. We work on-site to improve living conditions in a lasting, sustainable way. We offer targeted support to accompany people in escaping poverty on their own - just like it once succeeded with „our“ Anika (see Romania Team). We work entirely privately. We handle everything entirely on a personal, private basis. This means: In addition to collecting donations, we organize and finance the transports ourselves, and we personally distribute the donations and personally accompany each individual we support.

Personal Approach

We see helping as a highly personal matter. Therefore, we know the living situations and conditions of each person we support and accompany them over many years. We don't „scatter“ aid, but maintain close, personal relationships built on deep trust.

Change through Education

The only way to truly escape poverty is through education and schooling. That's why we support selected children through school sponsorships, attend parent-teacher conferences, and provide tutoring.

„When it was still during Ceaușescu's time in 1987 and people were freezing and starving, my husband said, 'When this regime falls, then...' And then it really did fall, and we traveled to Romania for the first time at Easter 1990, loaded to the brim with donated goods. We had no idea what would come of it, but thought we'd do it once. That was 34 years ago...“

Our Team (Germany)

Harald Thoma († 2003)

Harald Thoma, together with his wife Ingrid, initiated the Romania Aid in 1990 and successfully led it until his death in 2003.

Ingrid Thoma († 2026)

Ingrid Thoma is the heart, soul, and driving force of the Romania Aid. Since 1990, she has been working for the needy in Romania and has built up trusting relationships with everyone we support over the years.

Ralf Thoma

Ralf Thoma has been involved in Romania Aid since the very first transport and has been managing and leading the aid program together with his wife Annekatrin since 2003.

Annekatrin Lamothe Project Management

Annekatrin Lamothe-Thoma has been part of the Romania team since 2003 and, together with her husband Ralf, ensures that the work initiated by Harald and Ingrid continues successfully in the second generation.

Daniel Lamothe

Daniel Lamothe grew up with Romania and, like his younger brother Kevin, has been an integral part of the Romania team for many years.

Kevin Lamothe

Kevin Lamothe grew up with Romania and is not only a reliable helper in loading and distributing donations, but also plays an important role as a link to „our“ Romanian children and youth.

Our Team (Romania)

Anika Zegheru

Anika Zegheru, also lovingly called „our“ Anika, grew up in one of the poorest and most precarious circumstances and was supported by the Romania Aid from early childhood. Thanks to this support, she was able to graduate from school, complete vocational training as a tax consultant, and even earn a law degree. Today, she „gives back“ what she once received and is our indispensable „woman for everything“ on-site in Sighișoara. For us, her story is proof that our approach works. It's not about how much someone gets, but what they make of it!

Margarete Fazakas

LC Schäßburg

Margarete Fazakas, affectionately called „Manci“ by us, is a member of the Lions Club Schäßburg and reliably takes care of all the „paperwork“ on-site. Furthermore, she operates a guesthouse in Schäßburg (Sighișoara) where we always stay during our aid trips.

Lions Club Am Tegernsee

Since 2008, the Romania Aid of the Thoma Foundation has been supported by the Lions Club am Tegernsee. Thanks to this support and the donations from LC am Tegernsee, we have been able to realize various projects that would not have been possible with private funds alone.

These projects include the complete renovation of the municipal kindergarten in Sighișoara, the organization of recurring food distributions several times a year, support for an animal shelter in Sighișoara, and much more. We are very grateful for this collaboration and the extremely trusting cooperation!

Foundation History

Ingrid Thoma – Co-Initiator and Co-Founder of the Romania Aid

The Trigger – Christmas 1988

It began when my husband Harald Thoma and I learned from the press around Christmas 1988 about the conditions in Romania under Ceausescu's regime. Ceausescu had many small farming villages razed to the ground with the aim of resettling the previously self-sufficient farmers into prefabricated apartment blocks in larger cities. This spurred Harald to take action, and with the help of local parishes we obtained numerous addresses of families in need all across Romania. We decided to visit them in order to find a place where our help was most needed... and then we simply set off.

The First Trip to Romania

The journey by car turned out to be more difficult than expected. After crossing the border from Hungary into Romania, we were met with incomprehension from the customs officers, who did not understand the purpose of the trip. There is no hardship here! Harald and I stayed calm, unloaded all our things from the car as ordered, and calmly had a snack. In the end, after hours, the customs officers let us enter even without the required visa. However, we had the feeling that we were being followed afterwards by the Securitate, the secret police of the time.

Arrival in Schäßburg

After we had already visited other cities and families on our list, we finally arrived in Schäßburg in Transylvania. It was immediately clear to us that this was where we would have to fight poverty most intensely and that the needy truly required our help in order to survive.

Meeting Hans Hedrich and the Szapanyos Family

Another reason why we ultimately chose this city for our aid was Hans Hedrich, a teacher at the Schäßburg grammar school who had applied to emigrate to Germany and was therefore considered an enemy of the state. We met Hans by chance on the Schäßburg market square; he spoke German and willingly helped us find the addresses of the Romanian families in town. He was the brother-in-law of Roszi Szapanyos, Anika's mother. This is how contact arose with Api Szapanyos, the father of our closest confidante today, and his family in Schäßburg.

Building a Network of Trust

A long-standing network of trusted people on whom we can rely and who by now count among our friends. In addition, we receive reliable help every time from the Lions Club in Schäßburg, founded by Harald Thoma in xxxx.

From a One-Time Effort to Lasting Aid

The original idea of providing help on-site only a single time fell apart during that very first trip, when we experienced the great poverty, hardship, and catastrophic conditions. Back in Germany, we decided to continue organizing aid trips to Romania.

Support from the Lions Club Am Tegernsee

A happy coincidence came to our aid when the Lions Club Am Tegernsee was looking for a new activity in xxxx and took a liking to our commitment. We are still grateful to the club today for its many years of support.

2001 – Founding of the Thoma Foundation

Shortly before his death in 2001, Harald founded the thoma-stiftung. His heartfelt wish was that the foundation be carried on in his spirit, which I do to this day with conviction and the full support of my children.

Poverty has no lobby —but great perseverance.