Romania

Meet Our Doctors

 in Bucharest / Health  tagged Bucharest / charity / children / gypsies / health / medicine / Minnesota / non-profit / Romania by

Open Door Medical Clinic – Bucharest

Did you know Mia’s Children has our very own medical team?

Okay, well not exactly, but we do have a special place to take the kids if they get sick or need checkups.

Drs. Linda and Milt Hanson, a US couple, run a medical mission in Bucharest called Open Door Medical Center.

From their website:

Situated in the city of Bucharest, capital of Romania, Open Door Medical Center is a full-service family medicine clinic that primarily serves low-income Romanians, gypsies, and refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Services include prenatal care and well-child care, geriatrics, and preventive care. The medical staff includes Drs. Milton and Linda Hanson, associate professors with University of Minnesota School of Medicine.

Most patients are very low-income Romanians, many of whom make less than $40 per month. The Romanian government provides no safety net medical care, and most low-income persons simply go without, but for the charity care offered at Open Door.

Refugees from Africa, and Iraqis and Iranians living in Romania also frequent Open Door Medical Center, as do some Americans and Western Europeans living in Romania.

Open Door’s two physicians are a husband and wife team. Milton and Linda Hanson are associate professors with University of Minnesota School of Medicine.They first came to Romania in 1994, learned the Romanian language, received their hard-won Romanian medical licenses, and then initiated the Open Door Medical Foundation in 1997.

For many years Mia has been able to bring the children and her own family to the center for quality, compassionate health care. What a blessing in a country with overburdened medical programs and a struggling economy.

Learn more about Open Door Medical Center and how you could get involved with their work.

Who Will Love the Roma?

 in Bucharest / Education / poverty / Racism / Roma people  tagged Bucharest / education / employment / France / immigration / love / Mia's Children / racism / Roma / Romania by

A woman begs on the street in Bucharest

France is again returning Roma people back to their home country of Romania, even though the practice has been controversial.

The displacement of the Roma population is at least partly political. Many Roma people have squatted in France and live there illegally in conditions much like a refugee camp. The decision to destroy those quarters and move the Roma back to their home countries began in late summer of 2010, as part of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration and crime.

Regardless of my views on France’s action and the immigration issues that surround it, one question that stands out to me is, “Who will love these marginalized people?”

France claims that the Roma live on the outskirts of society. But whether they are in Romania or in France, they are blocked from employment. They receive little to no education – often because the parents will not encourage school attendance, but sometimes because they are denied access or bullied by educators once there. They have almost no path for moving up in the world. Without the encouragement and opportunities to learn to read and write, it is very difficult for them to integrate into any community.

When Mia’s Children first started, one of the biggest tasks was ensuring that all of the kids would get an education. Roma students who were willing to attend school were treated badly by their teachers and ignored. Mia would have to tutor them for hours in the afternoon, because essentially they were not given any attention in class compared to the other students.

The problem continues to this day. Mia has found it very discouraging trying to get education for Roma children who were born without birth certificates. The country does not recognize such children as people (without a birth certificate, you obviously were never born!). And as non-persons, they can not be in school.

Mia has managed to open a path for these students by teaching them herself. God bless her.

Who else will love these unloved children? Will you? Will I? Is it acceptable to say that a child found in a trash can with dark skin is less a child? The Roma people are looked down on as nomads and criminals, but when a person is blocked from all employment crime becomes normal. It is a terrible cycle that can only be addressed through Roma children becoming properly integrated, educated, faithful men and women who know they are loved.

There are many problems inside the Roma population. As much as Mia cares for the children, she doesn’t deny the many generational sins that burden Roma families and affect their reputation as a people group. But love can reach through darkness and save a person from anything. Love never fails.

Even as Romania and Western Europe fail the Roma, love will not fail them, and neither should we.

– Joanna Miller

Prayers – and Prayer Requests

 in Economy / Health / poverty / Prayer  tagged Bucharest / Easter / God / poverty / prayer / Romania by

Some prayers and prayer requests from Mia:

“I continue to be inspired by what God showed me in spite of all the trials we have to go through. In the same time, we look at what happened in the world and we see Japan many other places and we realize again that the world has to come back to God, as the only hope for the future. Let’s pray and work together and look forward, to build bridges between people from different parts of the world, as all need God .

As we are waiting to again celebrate Easter, let’s take inside of our hearts and souls Jesus’ death and resurrection and continue to march with Him in the world. Together with Him we are strong!

Romania is passing through very difficult times, like all the world. What’s worst is that many people lost their hopes: the suicide rate it’s incredibly high, more people are depressed, many are sick with diseases resulting from poverty, malnutrition, a lack of medicine being available, proper food and hygiene products scarce.

For us it became more difficult to keep going with our mission as the dollar continues to be devalued in time when the prices are continually going up. There are days when we don’t know how to manage the situation other than to pray and look forward. In spite of everything, we are optimistic and this is encouraging other people to know and understand “our key “. We witness in this way what we know the best: ‘all things are possible with God!’ ”

Please, pray for:

  • Revival across the world;
  • People who  are going through sorrow over losing family, friends, property;
  • Financial provision to pay the bills, need expenses for keeping the kids, meeting ever-rising living expenses;
  • Health for Mia and all the kids: for Oana, Mario, Gabriela, Nicoleta who are quite ill right now

We thank you for making a way for us in these difficult times. Your help, support, prayers, encouragements mean so much to us. Blessings and much love to all of you.

(Mia)

Short Term Service Trips with Mia’s Children

 in Ministry  tagged Bucharest / children / ministry / Romania / service by

Did you know Mia’s Children accepts short-term missions teams and individuals who want to help?

With the new building, we are able to accept groups more formally to work with the students on a short-term basis.

Projects might include:

  • teaching art, music, language or other subjects
  • taking the children out for activities like sports
  • helping to fix up and/or clean the Mia’s Children headquarters
  • leading Bible studies and/or group meetings
  • meeting individually with students and possibly their families
  • other work projects as Mia determines

All projects would be under the direction of Mia and the Romanian staff. Because of logistical challenges like housing, size, translation, and funding, we can’t accept every group that wants to visit, but we are happy to work with you as we and the Romanian team are able.

Contact us for more information.

Wolf Children

 in Abuse / Boys / Bucharest / Education / Family / Health / Home / Hope / Orphans / poverty  tagged abuse / Bucharest / children / education / health / home / hope / ministry / orphans / poverty / refuge / Romania by

(The following update from Bucharest tells the story of two new members from the “wolf group” of children –  arrivals at the mission who Mia and the rest of the association have very courageously taken in. Please consider their plight in your prayers this week. They represent exactly why Mia’s Children exists.)

◊ ◊ ◊

In times of concerns and social, economical, moral crises when people are so much focused on their own drama, trying to find answers to so many questions, God is giving us grace, prosperity, meeting His promises for us: “Don’t be afraid, I am with you !”

And He is!

Romania is going crazy through all this: the school system, the medical care, the social policy and not only these, are not covering the real life and the results are a disaster. More kids are abandoning school, all types of viruses are going around, and there are no medicines, no money, no proper education in school–the society seems that it is asleep.

But in spite of this, the Lord is giving us a special vision to redeem, to rebuild, to refill the precious spirits and hearts of those who are brought into our work. That’s why we accepted two more children, coming from” the wolf group”, Bogdan and Emi. At the age of 8 they look like 4-year olds, mal-nutitioned. Wild an scary as they lived for months and months in a place where they imitated the way beasts are walking and speaking.

It’s incredible how children can survive with no love, no care in this moment in the society and how they can try to survive, having refuge among animals, who became a kind of family for them. The first days they were speaking in strange language, imitating the sounds of animals. And it required great courage for Costi and Oana to bring them inside the group, to clean out their lice, to try to calm them and cut their wild hair, and to give them the first bath….the words are too poor, sometimes ….

It is tremendous to see how hard it has been for them, and also for the group, to all of us to change their habits. The kids are trying to adjust their new life, including the new boys. We notice the great progress the two boys are making in one month: they started to love to play with other children, to speak, to listen and respect simple rules, to take baths, to stay dressed.

They still are rocking back and forth and sucking their thumbs, and they want to be taken in your arms as babies, emitting different sounds that have no meaning for us. They started to love to be hugged and touched, and looking at the rest of the group, they want to start to write. Emi drew his first tiny house and gave it to Mia, telling her how much he loves her. He also hangs on Oana’s feet, and we discovered that one of his legs is shorter than the other. Please pray for these children and us to continue to improve their lives.

All of this is possible because God loves each of us so much, because of each of you who are praying, giving, trusting, helping to design a vision for a better tomorrow. This can be a way for a better society, an answer for a safer world, where love and peace and understanding and supporting can take place and help human beings to live in harmony with God and each other, rebuilding the moral fiber of God’s creation.

Thank you for your faithfulness and dedication, for your supporting Mia’s Children!

Trafficking in Romania

 in Abuse / Europe / Politics / Romania  tagged children / CNN / crime / Europe / European Union / human rights / human trafficking / Romania by

(CNN) — Romania has become a major transit for the sale of people into the European Union. Victims as young as 12 years old are trafficked into Romania from destinations as far-reaching as Honduras, Afghanistan, the Congo, and China. Once they reach Romania, many of these victims are assigned for passage beyond into Western Europe.

While Romanian law officially prohibits all forms of human trafficking, the country’s strategic geographic location — a crossroads between East and West — makes it a source, transit and destination country for the people trade. The country’s 2007 admission into the European Union brought more relaxed border regulations and enhanced its attraction for international human traffickers.

Read the full article at CNN.com

Protect Mia’s Children from Fire

 in Fundraiser / Home  tagged Bucharest / fire / fundraising / Mia's Children / Romania / safety by

Our winter newsletter is on its way, and in it we’ve included pictures of the new headquarters, along with a few remaining needs for the building.

Many needs have already been met by volunteers in Romania and donors in the United States. One particularly large end-of-year gift went to cover 40 sets of dishes and a video monitoring system for the building!

One of the biggest needs still unmet is a set of fire alarms/smoke detectors. The building is so big that we need 10! Including installation, the cost comes to $700.

Will you consider giving to this effort? We are praying for seven $100 gifts, ten $70 gifts, or twenty $35 gifts. On our right sidebar we’ve added a fundraising thermometer that we’ll keep updated as together we reach this goal!

Christmas Reflections

 in Uncategorized  tagged Bucharest / children / Christmas / Jesus / mystery / Romania by

This season we glorify a God who allowed himself to be born into poverty and sadness so that we could have eternal home.

Jesus spent his childhood years first in a barn, then in a foreign country fleeing violence and terror. He learned a trade, but spent most of his ministry homeless. How many of Romania’s children can relate to such a life?

And here we celebrate his humble birth and infancy only days after Mia and all of Mia’s Children move into a permanent home, warm and safe.

Thank you for your love and support, for your prayers, time and many gifts. Some of you have been a part of this work since Mia first arrived in the United States 12 years ago, and some of you have become involved recently but are deeply invested. We are so grateful.

This Christmas, we wish you all of the joy Christ offers and a deepened awe at the mystery of a God who would be born into the slums in order to save slum-dwellers. Surely he came to save Romania’s children.

Merry Christmas.

Mia’s Children Foundation, USA

House Progress

 in Uncategorized  tagged Bucharest / charity / children / Christmas / construction / ministry / Romania by

Mia and some of the children, ready to move!

We’re making progress!

Mia says that the house is now finished on the outside and they are beginning work on the inside!

In fact, they are hoping to move everyone in around the middle of December so that they can be in their new home for Christmas.

In order to move in fully, Mia and the rest need an incredible amount of furniture and other supplies, including:

  • tools for kitchen
  • plates
  • blankets
  • sheets
  • carpets
  • bedroom furniture
  • living room furniture
  • shelving
  • tables
  • desks
  • sofa

Fortunately they already have help securing an oven and washing machine.

If you would like to help cover some of these costs, please contact us or make a donation! We will have a lot of options to give this holiday season, and we hope that you will keep Mia in your prayers and consider the new house in your Christmas gift plans!

Below we include some thoughts from Mia on the new home:

May our Lord be with you in all His glory!

The house it’s finished outside and soon will be inside!!! It’s incredible! God is so, so good!!!

The kids  are so happy. They just wait to be in the new place, not because they don’t like here, but because that will be the place where they’ll continue to grow, a stable home!!!

Well, I hardly can imagine that we’ll be in such a huge home!!!

I remember when Joan asked me to dream big!!! 12 years ago, I even didn’t know to dream!!!

Day by day Lord taught me to dream and you helped me to dream and fulfill the dream!!! I pray for stable place for the kids 12 years!!! Look where we are!!!! I’m so, so grateful for all what we received all these years what we had learn! It’s a story of life, of faith, of walking with Lord, learning to dream, reaching people at the Truth for the glory of God.

It’s awesome !!!

Please, help us to purchase some furniture for the rooms, carpets, plates, blankets, everything would be possible.

The owner of the place would like to be finished everything before Christmas and the kids to sleep inside starting with the 17th of December!!!! So, we need to move fast!!!

All our love and thanks, a lot of miss for you!

Blessings from Oana and Costy
Mia and all