If somebody had asked me two years ago whether a 10-day trip visiting one of the poorest countries in Europe seemed appealing, I would have probably said no.

But in July 2009, 1 found myself at Gatwick airport boarding a flight to Romania with 10 other students.

Glimpsing across the terminal, I absorbed what would be the last inches of civilisation I would see for a while.

The annual trip, organised by St Laurence School, Bradford-on-Avon, enables sixteen and seventeen year old young people, like myself, to work with underprivileged families in Iasi, a city in north-east Romania.

Working side by side with a number of charities and organisations the work we did was hands-on and emotionally harrowing.

Iasi is the third largest city in Romania and supposedly a cultural and academic hub, accommodating the oldest university and Central Library in Romania, and the beautiful Palace of Culture.

All of this became irrelevant when behind the shiny new shopping mall, lived families whose lives were a constant struggle consisting of poverty, inequality and the terrible truth that life around them was moving forward, while they were staying put.

Our trip was centred around the work of the Way of Joy charity, a Christian organisation who provided relief through food, water and above all, care and attention.

The Way of Joy charity is funded by Robin Hood Ministries – an organisation based in Trowbridge. As a charity they support children who are living in a society where they are ignored and unacknowledged by the people living around them.

The Way of Joy are based a minute’s walk away from the Phantom Block – a grey, concrete ghetto comprising of 130 children and their families living in rooms no bigger than 2 metres by 2 metres, shielded only by a frayed curtain and sharing one cooker on each floor.

The Phantom Block does not have running water nor toilets, showers or heating (in fact families had often dangerously lit open fires in their own rooms to keep warm during the –25 degree winters).

Unfortunately the lack of waste disposal meant the smell was overpowering and it lingered throughout the stark corridors.

I was able to meet and talk to one of the Phantom Block families, a mother, and father of seven children, six I believe still lived with their parents in the ghetto, which I found unbelievable due to the fact we struggled to fit four of us in the room, let alone eight.

They told us of their battle to find work, the effect of the recession and the aspirations for their children who remained a source of hope in this constant cycle of poverty.

Packets of biscuits were brought and handed out by us, which resulted in a bombardment of children, desperate for as many treats as they could ram in their pockets.

Our time there was spent playing and meeting with some of the children – clapping games and songs were popular as the language barrier often caused difficulty.

During the trip we continued our work with the families we had met when visiting the ghetto block.

We organised a shopping trip – each taking a child to the centre of Iasi and buying them clothes to last the harsh winters in Romania.

The children seemed bewildered with the modern day Iasi –some were excited, although the majority were stunned to silence when faced with the prospect of brand new things being bought for them.

Each team member had 60 Lei to spend on one child; this money was part of the £400 every individual fundraised prior to the trip, and therefore it was fantastic to finally see where our money was going.

With my money, I managed to purchase a shirt, a pair of trousers and shoes for the young boy, who couldn't have been older than five, My heart sank when I saw the child's eyes light up as we wandered past the shelves of toys, and with the small amount of Lei I had left over, I purchased a football – a triumph with the little boy who refused to let it out of his grasp.

One of the main visits we made when in Iasi, was to Dallas – a shanty town on the edge of the city. It comprised of several huts and rooms made out of anything the inhabitants could find – mud, wood, corrugated iron and cardboard were common materials used.

Again, running water, toilets and hygiene facilities didn’t exist in this vast spread of land. One of the families we encountered used a neighbour’s well, yet this is to be short-lived as they’re only allowed five litres a day and even this seemed uncertain.

Conditions are appalling and the future doesn't seem much brighter – although somehow the sense of community was the strongest I’d seen since arrival.

Compared to the sheer desperation of the Phantom Block, this quiet struggle was upsetting but it was obvious family and community values are key to their survival.

We witnessed children and toddlers playing in rubbish heaps, and I was certain that the families weren't living alone – rats inhabited the ghettos and I imagine Dallas wasn’t dissimilar.

Alongside this work, our team kept busy with our main project – restoring a house for a family who were struggling with their two-room dilapidated dwelling.

Our work seemed never-ending. Not only did we had to re-plaster the internal and external walls, the floor needed to be dug up and covered with cement so the rooms were damp-proof for the winter.

The family we worked with consisted of three children aged 15, 8 and 18 months and their parents. The father was unemployed due to the recession (a worldwide issue that has struck Romania particularly hard) and the mother worked as a street sweeper seven days a week. The money they earned from this provided them with the bare minimum in order to survive, but there was none left over, for example, to fix the floor and prevent worms from climbing over the children's faces during the night.

This was where we helped. Due to sheer determination and a lot of physical ability, we managed to provide this kind and loving family with a habitable home to see them through the bitter winters.

Our team embarked on plenty more life-changing accomplishments during the 10 days.

From holding a summer camp in the beautiful countryside surrounding Iasi to meeting with the Last Chance Charity, an organisation working with homeless individuals, providing necessities including toothbrushes and food for these affected young people.

It’s hard to believe that this is a country that joined the EU in 2007 and whose government strive for an equal society free of discrimination.

Perhaps if this were the case, child beggars, ghetto blocks and severe poverty would be a thing of the past. Our team raised over £4,000 towards some of the projects we took part in.

We’ve also chosen a child to sponsor, providing them with food, clothing, medication, and meeting their educational needs.

I hope to revisit Iasi to see how our work has affected people’s lives, but I encourage anyone who wants to take an inspirational and life-changing trip to consider possibly organising something similar in your school or college, or think about fundraising for a truly worthwhile cause.

Robin Hood Ministries is a Christian charity, committed to their work helping to fight poverty in Romania and other affected areas overseas. For more information, visit www.robinhoodministries.org

By Lucy Vincent, 17, St Laurence School, Bradford-on-Avon