Autumn 2014 MISSIONWITHOUTBORDERS continued over >> When Romania joined the European Union in 2007, Romanians thought everything would improve. But now many people are doubtful. More than ever, Romania’s poor people struggle for survival. As in 2007, many children still face daily poverty and misery. Besides those that beg on the streets, there are also children whose parents went abroad to take low-paid jobs to provide for their children remaining back home - children left at home alone or in the care of grandparents, aunts or uncles, if they are lucky. This scenario plays out all over the country, but especially in the villages. No jobs and lack of government intervention perpetuate the problems. Villages preserve the traditions and customs of the Romanian people but are not considered important and therefore do not attract government funds. The villagers must choose between moving to town and to try to find work, or going to find work abroad in order to keep their house and provide for their children. It is this environment in which Mission Without Borders can make a difference in the lives of those who have long been forgotten. Sighisoara, a medieval town of about 26,000, is one of the places where many struggle to survive. The main form of employment in the area is agriculture. Most of the families living here are connected to gas and electricity, but not all can afford it. The greatest challenges are the lack of jobs, the bad roads, the low wages and high prices. Our new church partner in the area is the Christian Baptist Church Sighisoara. In the community around the church, most are Roma (gypsies) and get treated as the lowest class. Mission Without Borders has so far enrolled 35 children in the Child Rescue sponsorship programme and offers them tutoring lessons and a warm meal every day. Although this Afterschool programme is relatively new, the success of the project is already visible. The children’s meetings take place at the church where there’s also a cooking and dining area. They usually start their meetings with prayer and then have lunch. Most of the children enrolled do not have anything else to eat when they go home, so this is the only meal they eat for the day. They meet every day after school from Monday through Friday. The people involved are the cook who daily prepares the food and serves it to the children. The pastor of the church and two teachers help the children with their homework. One of the teachers also teaches the children how to play guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, drums or saxophone. The children also learn about God and the Bible. One day, the cook, who is a Christian lady, wanted to see if anyone would notice if they didn’t pray before having lunch, so she didn’t say anything. Most of the children started eating, but after Maria & Sile — getting food for Body and Soul By Lavinia Campean, MWB Romania