"Cercetați toate lucrurile, si păstrați ce este bun!"

Apostolul Pavel

English

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

I visited a home of a third grader who is enrolled in our After School Program, where we offer educational assistance and emotional support for Roma children between the ages 7 and 18.

This little girl always has a smile on her face, attends the program daily, and always has the cleanest clothes and shoes. Little did we know what her home situation was? One of the After School Program teachers alerted us that the little girl's mother was asking if we could help a new soba (wood burning stove) since her old one broke after twelve years of use.

Of course many families ask us for help and we aren't able to assist everyone; however, we felt God saying to go visit this family's home due to the mother’s faithfulness to her children.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Originally from California, I have been living in Romania for thirteen years and have seen firsthand the need to transform Romanian adoption and abandonment laws. After seeing the needs of the children, from volunteering in the orphanage, children’s hospital, and local Roma villages, we founded a non-profit organization called Firm Foundations Romania, which is dedicated to transforming the lives of disadvantaged children and families by providing physical and educational guidance along with sharing the Gospel and God’s love. In addition to running FFR, I’ve had the privilege to write for this newspaper for over a year now, connect with the Romanian diaspora in various parts of America, and attend the Balkan Prayer event located at the Romanian Parliament. Romania is very much a part of my life.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Firm Foundations Romania runs an international volunteer program in the Brasov State Children’s Hospital. Holly Winterrowd, who lives in Florida, came to volunteer for seven weeks this summer. This was her third trip to Romania, and she hopes to return again soon. After her second week of volunteering, Holly wrote this blog regarding her experience in the hospital:


What can be said about a diaper rash so severe, the child's skin peels off and blood seeps onto the crib sheet?

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6

We recently had our Kids Club and After School Program Graduation in Budila!  What an amazing time it was for all the kids, teachers and volunteers who have worked so hard this past school year.   The kids sang songs for us, and we handed out certificates to those who were graduating out of our Kids Club Program, 8th Grade and High School.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Rachel Titiriga is one of our project managers from our After School Program in Budila, a Roma village located about 30 km outside of the city of Brasov. Rachel shares her heart about one of our Roma teens from Firm Foundations Romania’s programs working hard to reach her goals:

 

“This beautiful young lady, is Elena. She is in the 8th grade and attends our After School Program (ASP) twice a week. For this entire school year, every Wednesday she has also been my Assistant for my 5th Grade ASP class. She really has a gift for teaching. About a month into have her assist me I began to allow her to do most of the teaching, we would meet before and discuss what we would do with the kids and then I would let her go for it! I would guide her as she went and helped with the kids. It has been great to see her grow as a "teacher".

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Juliana Lodge arrived in Romania in October 2009. She volunteered alongside members of the FFR team for a year, then returned to work in the UK. Juliana has come back to Romania each year to support local projects and is now a trustee of STAR International. Here is a little more about Juliana’s journey and her heart for Romania.


My name is Juliana. I am a Speech & Language Therapist (Pathologist) specialising in Complex Communication Difficulties in children. My journey started in 2009 when I felt the ‘call’ to serve as a volunteer in Romania.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza



Sharing Oregon beer and blueberries with the world, offering humanitarian aid and helping China increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities…..these were just some of the accomplishments of Oregon companies recognized at last evening’s Oregon Consular Corps Celebrate Trade event.

As part of World Trade Week, the annual event recognizes the significant contribution Oregon’s traded sector companies and nonprofits make to the region’s economic vitality and quality of life. Awards were given in seven categories.

Governor Kate Brown and Mayor Charlie Hales were keynote speakers.

This year’s award recipients included:

• Fall Creek Farm and Nursery - Governor's Trade Leadership Award

• Craftport – Emerging Oregon Exporter

• Simple BBVA - Foreign Direct Investment

• K&L Gates - Global Leader

• DePaul Packaging - New Exporter

• Jeff Pinneo, CEO of Medical Teams International - Individual Achievement

• First Stop Portland- Ambassador Award

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Personal growth is extremely important for me. Developing a world-view and understanding the importance of reaching out to humanity is imperative in this day and age. Firm Foundations Romania is excited to announce its brand new internship program. Are you a woman, 18 or older, who is seriously committed to making a difference in the lives of those here in Romania, to laying down her life for a year to grow in her relationship with God, and to seek the Lord in order to gain a better understanding for what He has for her future? If so, this program may be for you.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

One of my long-term goals is to see Romanian adoption laws changed on behalf of the abandoned children of Romania. After living in Brasov, Romania for over 12 years, I have seen enough suffering of children who want to be loved by a mother and a father. Every day matters to a child in institution. I am happy to share that my close friends are embarking on a mission to make a difference for the children of Romania. Please read below to follow their plan of action to help:

Letter to Romanian Network

Friends,

There are more than 70,000 Romanian children in state care, of that only 1200-1400 are considered to be “adoptable.” In order to be considered “adoptable” the child’s biological parents must be deceased or indicate that they have no interest in a relationship with the child.

Categorie: Articole în Engleza

Alisha Sidebottom served side by side with Firm Foundations Romania for over 6 years. However, 2015 is the year that God is calling her back to her homeland in Michigan to pursue the next chapter of her life. No one can replace Alisha’s heart. Her love and passion to help others is a gift from God. Here is her testimony about her time in Romania:

“I first came to Brasov, Romania by train after flying into Bucharest, and this was my first impression: a train station where ladies slept on the floor, dogs roamed for food, and the only items to buy for dinner were beer, bread or water. Our trip took six hours instead of three, and I remember hearing drunken men walking in the streets and the loud sound of the bus that went by our apartment.