The Work

Family Sponsorship

Many families across Romania live below the poverty line. This sponsorship scheme is supported by financial gifts from sponsors in the UK. The A & O Team buy the food and take the food boxes to the families. This improves their standard of living.

Sponsors receive a photograph, names and addresses of the family, together with birthdays of the family members and some details about the family.

At the time of writing ORT is sponsoring 64 families. You can see from the pictures how much work is involved in the preparation of the food boxes, followed by distribution to the families. That involves miles of travel, many of which are on roads that need a lot of attention.

Student Sponsorship

Children living in villages do not have any education after 14 so our sponsorship scheme has been extended to include bus fares, and, in some cases weekly boarding, to enable the children to continue their education in the town, as without completion of their High School education they are unable to work – not even in a shop. Once they have finished school they need to go to university if they are bright enough and we help with university fees also.

At the time of writing ORT is sponsoring 12 students. The pictures show a few of these students.

Back to School

Although education in Romania is free, families have to buy all the school materials that are needed for use at school. This is impossible for poor families.
ORT provide money for the A & O Team to buy the necessary materials – reading books, writing books, pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers. The Team are in touch with the schools so that they know what books are relevant to particular age groups.

The pictures show many happy faces and, in some cases, happy parents!

Medicines

ORT have provided prescription medicines for a clinic run by a husband and wife team of doctors. This clinic operates on the same lines providing as a UK surgery, providing poor families in Oradea with access to healthcare, diagnosis and medicines at a lower than normal cost.

Since Brexit there have been difficulties in getting the quality medicines from the UK out to Romania.

We are in the process of trying to find another route to provide the same medicines.

Boga Camp

In 1999 a large field was bought by Nelu and Ani. The field is surrounded by magnificent scenery. Water is obtained from two springs. It is stored in underground tanks and then pumped to the campsite buildings. The campsite was officially opened in 2004.
The campsite takes up to 40 children + team members and, over the years, many lives have been transformed.

Each summer camp has lots of fun and lots of relaxation.
There are morning and evening sessions that include singing, drama and Bible teaching.

In addition to the children’s camps, there have been camps for the mums and dads of sponsored families.

Covid-19 has prevented the camps from operating over the last two years but the team are hoping that 2022 will bring better news.

Emanuel Hospice

The “Hospice Emanuel” Oradea Foundation is a charitable, non-governmental organization, engaged in the care of adults and child patients from Oradea and the neighbouring villages, in the last stages of incurable diseases. Hospice Foundation seeks to work on local practices by promoting hospice philosophy and palliative care principles among professionals and the general public.

You can read more about the work of the Hospice on their website: www.emanuelhospice.org/en

It’s a wonderful story and ORT have been privileged to partner with them through specific fundraising events, such as Coffee mornings.

It’s been a privilege to pray with them and for them.