
Romania
Mission Without Borders began working in Romania at the beginning of the 1980s.Romania is a haven for wildlife, and is home to more than 60% of the brown bear population in Europe. Also, the bison, the largest mammal in Europe, was reintroduced in Romania and other countries in 2014 after being hunted almost to extinction.Mission Without Borders

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we have been working in Romania since 1980. Currently we are supporting 490 families in 23 communities, helping them to develop their potential and find ways to provide for themselves.
Discover how one family was transformed thanks to our support.
From helping persecuted Christians to caring for orphans
Mission Without Borders began working in Romania at the beginning of the 1980s. At the time, it was named Underground Evangelism, and involved providing Bibles and material aid to Christians being persecuted for their faith under Communist regimes.
When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, the plight of Romania’s orphans shocked the world as images of malnourished children living in inhumane conditions in huge care homes appeared on the news.
Romania’s dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, inspired by the Stalinist dogma that population growth would fuel economic growth, had banned contraception and taxed the childless. The birth rate more than doubled – and mothers were advised to place their children in orphanages under the ideology that the state is better than the family.
The state-run institutions weren’t adequately funded or staffed. The resultant desperate plight of hundreds of thousands of children compelled Mission Without Borders to begin work in Romania as Child Rescue International in the early 1990s.
Meeting the needs of children and students
Mission Without Borders’s staff and volunteers began visiting children in institutions on a regular basis, giving hugs and affection and sharing God’s Word, and meeting their urgent material and educational needs.

Over the next few years, we expanded to 28 counties, helping nearly 45,000 children in 234 homes. While other organisations came and went, Mission Without Borders remained a reliable and faithful source of support to the children for many years.
Our summer camps, Bible Correspondence Course, vocational support and scholarship programme were then developed to further support the children and later students.
One of the conditions imposed on Romania’s entry into the European Union in 2007 was the reduction of the number of institutionalized children. As the process of institutionalization gathered pace, we turned our attention to child sponsorship in communities and supporting families living in poverty.
Poverty in Romania
The Communist regime had left many people in Romania destitute. Food shortages led to rationing and long queues, and items such as meat, butter and coffee became a rare luxury, while heating, electricity, gas and water supplies were constantly interrupted. Romania made remarkable progress over the next few years, its economy growing faster than any other EU state. However, poverty rates in Romania still remain high, particularly in rural areas.
41% of children in Romania are at risk of poverty or social exclusion – the highest levels in the EU.Mission Without Borders
Romania is recognised as one of the primary countries of origin for people trafficking across Europe, with poverty making people vulnerable to exploitation. Mission Without Borders’s work with families, children and young people gives them hope for the future and a means to support themselves, decreasing their risk of trafficking.
Our ongoing spiritual support ensures that our impact is deeply felt. Discover how a mother living in poverty committed her life to Christ after receiving the help she needed.
Roma communities
The Roma population are the most marginalised group in Romania. They are three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than their Romanian peers and they face discrimination and high levels of unemployment.

One in three Roma live in a dwelling without running water, and more than 50% live in overcrowded houses.Mission With Borders
Education issues also persist in Roma communities, where de facto segregation often results in a poorer quality of education for Roma children. 80% of out-of-school children are Roma, and at least 18% of Roma children are uneducated.
Mission Without Borders supports Roma families, helping them break out of poverty, and works closely with Roma children, running after school clubs that provide essential emotional and educational support. Helping Roma children flourish at school is crucial in bringing long-lasting change to these communities.