Residents help mop up a flooded church and the rector carries children across a submerged road.

The couple said doing nothing was not an option for their children or other families facing similar challenges.

They call Rogojeni the “hobbit village”, and its little half-buried houses, built to resist Moldova’s cold winters and hot summers, do look like something from “The Lord of the Rings”.

The decaying Rapokolana facility was built in 2005 but has never been fully operational. It is a missed opportunity for athletes from South Africa and Lesotho. Built in 2005 to attract elite athletes, ...