On a lovely sunny day, Rob was practicing his skills in Handsworth Park when he was approached by a man asking who he was and how he came to be able to control the ball so well.

Rob answered that he regularly practices here and that he sometimes has to hide from the youngsters or he wouldn’t get the chance to do anything, as they would always come over and ask how to do this or how did he do that! It made the man (Dave) laugh.

Dave then asked if Rob liked working with kids and thought he would be great with them. Unbeknown to Dave, Rob has spent his life working with youngsters in many ways, shape and form

After a lengthy discussion Rob was invited to go to Romania to help out with some sports activities in an orphanage in the little town of Oradea south of the Country which borders Hungary.
The Caminul Felix Orphanage.

It is one of the poorest Countries in Europe with kids playing football in the streets with bottles, cans etc.

It was to become one of the best experiences of Robs life.

“The kids were fantastic... a real imprint on your emotions”.

Rob not only spent time with the kids playing footie, freestyling, teaching skills/tricks etc, he actually lived in the orphanage the entire time he was there.

“Going to Romania was one of the most special moments I have had the pleasure of being a part of”

“Adi who is the father of the family I stayed with, is without doubt one of the nicest, most caring and generous people you would ever want to meet…and it shows and shines through with the wonderful children he has raised over the 15 years he has been with Caminul felix.”

Rob was entertaining and making friends with the people of the Gypsy villages, the street kids, etc.
“Its incredible how these people live and in puts into perspective how fortunate we are in England and how we can sometimes take things for granted.”

"To give you and example of what I mean and the response I got from some of the youngsters"

…Imagine not having a television and have no idea what freestyling is?…Imagine living in an environment thinking there is no other language than Romanian?…Imagine never seeing a proper football let alone a new one?…Imagine never seeing a black person in your life?...

Now imagine that room full of the youths in question?

A black man walks into the room, he is carrying a new football, he is speaking another language, then he starts to freestyle...

The look and response from the kids…PRICELESS!

Rob was invited back to Romania a couple months later to help with a televised charity sports show where he demonstrated to the guests to help raise thousand of pounds for the children’s orphanages‘!

He has also adopted the orphanage as his own to try and make others aware of it.