The Lion's Roar - an experiment in community and compassion

Initiated by Laura Simms (www.laurasimms.com)

Buhusi. A small town in Romania, scarred by chronic unemployment and a strong shift in the ethnic makeup. Today inhabited by poor Romanian and Gypsy people, the town confrunts despair and desolation. The only thing that could still offer a source of both income and interest to the people here, an old zoo, is in a state of serious disrepair that threatens its very existence.

The animals are not fed well, the cages are too small and in disrepair, the walls of the buildings and surrounding the park are unsafe and near collapse. Buhusi is in danger of losing the one thing that offers interest to its people.

Through her own compassion for the people of Buhusi and the animals in Buhusi's zoo, Laura Simms created the idea of the Lion's Roar Project: restoring the Buhusi zoo and, by doing so, renewing the town's sense of community.

Ms. Simms, the zoo's director and a small international team of interested supporters continue to raise funds for immediate repair work and are now also developing plans for a formal organization that can be registered as an NGO in both Romania and the US. With a formal organization, work on both aspects can proceed more quickly and cover the broader outline of the Lion's Roar program.

The team is now engaged in drawing up detailed plans and a budget for full Lion's Roar program development and implementation.

This group will provide acces to the discussion carried out on the project, allowing the viewers to share the excitement of the work being done here.