MADALINA and Ovidiu look just like any other best friends having fun together.

But their smiles hide the pain of the years they spent in the same orphanage in Romania.

Now their lives are very different after they came to Britain for medical treatment.

And when they got the chance to meet up in Bolton they were thrilled to chat and play, but they only spoke in English and their orphanage in Dersca was not a topic of conversation. Madalina, eight, is staying with Kath and David Richardson in Wythburn Avenue, Bolton, and 11-year-old Ovidiu is being cared for by Val and Philip Stratton at their home in Chasetown, Staffordshire.

Kath and Dave met Madalina during one of their mercy missions to Romania and Val and Philip met Ovidiu during a similar trip.

The couples heard about each other and got in touch. They are now firm friends and get together on a regular basis.

During the latest visit to Bolton, Madalina was thrilled to learn she's to be a bridesmaid for Val and Philip's daughter Becky when she marries Jon in June this year.

Kath said: "She shouted 'yahoo' when she was told. She's going to wear a lilac and cream dress and she's thrilled to bits."

Madalina came to Bolton for treatment on a disabled arm. Ovidiu has a condition called renal rickets which has left him with disabled legs.

Both children loved the chance to meet again. Kath said: "They said they would be best friends for ever."

Although it is only 18 months since Ovidiu arrived in England and almost three years since Madalina came to Bolton both children refuse to speak in Romanian.

They both attend school in England. Madalina is a pupil at Beech House, the pre-prep section of Bolton School in Chorley New Road, Bolton.

Both children are still undergoing the medical treatment unavailable to them in Romania.

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