The Poor and Destitute of Romania

Marius (center) flanked by his father, mother and sister, and project manager Christina (far left) and Christian (far right).

By Christian Cournede and Cristina Stefanut

Many people have experienced hard times at some point in their life. Such tough times though may or may not be relative to the continuous challenges that face many, many people in Romania every day. Romania was once amongst the most prosperous and cultured of European countries before being devastated by years of corrupt Communism.

Marius is a young Romanian who introduced us to his family’s real-life drama. With Marius' sick father unable to work, his mother worked an average of 14 hours a day but still only was able to earn a mere US$ 80 per month. Trying to survive on this pitifully small amount each month, they got behind on all their utility bills (gas, water, electricity…) even though that winter they had chosen to go without heating and completely turn off the hot water! Little by little, their debt continued to grow, to the point where the amount needed to pay off their utility bills seemed unreachable to them.

As a result, it seemed certain that they would soon lose their apartment and be evicted. When we were able to arrange sponsorship to cover their debts in full (a small amount by western standards), this dear mother was so thankful that she was visibly shaking. She found it so hard to fully believe what had just happened.

She later wrote us the following note, “Something like this has never happened to us before. I consider it a miracle, and you were the instruments of that miracle. I know I can't thank you enough, but let me say this that we will never forget you and your gesture. Because of your donation we don't have to worry about being evicted anymore. You got us out of an impossible situation, one that I had no hope we could ever get out of. Once again, thank you so so much. I hope and pray that somehow God will reward you for this kindness that you showed us -- without even knowing us!”

*******

Here's the story of another family that we were able to help. Vali lives alone with his 4-year-old daughter, as his wife recently left him. We knocked on his door on Christmas Eve, and glancing in saw a bare one-room studio, no Christmas tree, certainly no toys or turkey in the oven, nor cake or chocolate pudding. At first Vali questioned who we were and why we had come. When he finally understood that we were just strangers passing by, who wanted to do something good for others in the name of Christ, he broke down in tears and couldn't stop crying. He thankfully accepted the presents and the food, meat and various products we had prepared for him.

*******

Pretty much everywhere you turn In Bucharest, you will see someone needy. When we park our car, we always try to give something to the ladies who show up to assist you getting parked, in hopes of getting a coin or two. These dear folks are there every day, regardless of whether snow or rain is falling, or in the heat of the day in summer, just trying to earn a few dollars to survive.
This particular day we had just picked up a donation of some nice girls' shoes, so we offered some to this one parking lady, after finding out that she had two teen-age daughters. As we handed her the shoes, she stood there silently for a few seconds, to the point we wondered if she was displeased with them or something. Suddenly she just broke into tears, and right there in the middle of the street she virtually collapsed in our arms. As her sobbing subsided, she explained that both she and her husband worked fulltime but still could barely feed their 2 daughters, so these shoes were just like a dream to them. Imagine how little it takes to make someone so happy.

*******

We were asked to organize a birthday party for Vlad, a 9-year-old boy dying of AIDS in a facility here. His case is so advanced that the doctor told us it would be his last birthday. So we had a little party for Vlad and got him some toys, as well as some for all the kids in the ward, who had a wonderful time together. It was so touching to see the light and joy on their faces as they received love and attention, as well as their presents.

We've been praying for the hospital to receive sufficient medicine for their AIDS patients. So imagine the elation we felt when we heard that the Glaxo company whom we had approached, had agreed to donate some Epivir-Retrovir. The doctors and hospital staff were nearly in tears when we delivered this much-needed medicine.

Christian (Project Manager) distributing toys to the children at the Colentina AIDS Hospital.

Delivering US $9,000 worth of donated Aids medicine to a local hospital.

Christian Cournede and Cristina Stefanut are the Project Managers of Noi Orizonturi Familia, an FCF project in Bucharest, Romania.

Email: fcf@familycare.org
Copyright 1997-2009 by Family Care Foundation

Click here to donate a car, truck, RV or other vehicle, or boat, to further our charity work.