Eleven-year-old Ionut lives in a village in northeastern Romania, in a beautiful region of forests and pastures, rich in natural resources.
“It sounds idyllic – but amidst the beauty the area is undeveloped, with very few economic opportunities and some living in terrible poverty.
“Children like Ionut enjoy the meadows and woods as their giant playground, but as they grow
up, many are likely to end up in the same poverty as their parents.
“Mission Without Borders supports children living in this region, helping them to break out of
the cycle of poverty. Ionut has been enrolled on our child sponsorship programme since he was
three years old, when his parents were unemployed with six children to feed and overwhelmed
by their problems.
“MWB’s support over the years has given the family much stability and support – but for Ionut,
the best part of all has been the summer camp that MWB runs every year. Summer camp gives
children living in poverty a holiday and an experience beyond their local neighbourhood. Last
summer, Ionut and three of his sisters went to camp together and it meant the world to them.
They made new friends and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Ionut said, “I’ve gone to summer camp before, and I had tons of fun. I loved the singing, the
time we spent in small groups, the Bible lessons and the games and all the new things that were
so interesting to me.
“I started attending church regularly and reading the Bible and Christian literature, which in 1992 was extremely scarce.”
“I can’t even begin to say how much I would love to attend a summer camp again. Going on the
slide, jumping on the trampoline, listening to Bible stories and talking to my friends in the
evenings in our room are some of the things I love so much and want to do again.”
“As well as giving children a valuable experience of happiness and fun, summer camp has been
an experience that leads to many lives changing dramatically.