God is the One who makes a way in the desert and calls forth things that are unseen to show His unconditional love towards the weak and helpless.
One year before the pandemic started Asociatia Restore bought a house in Seleus. The house is very close to the local school and it was bought with the hope that we could extend our work with the children from the Roma community in the village. When the pandemic began, we no longer had the access into the school which meant that the children from the Roma community were marginalised and ignored once again.
The children do not have telephones and very few received tablets. The teachers did not find a way to communicate lessons with them which meant that for two months in the school year of 2020 they children had no access to education. We realised that these children had an urgent need for help.
The house Restore had purchased in Seleus was still in construction and not able to be used. For that reason, we chose to use our location in Prod for After School. Three days a week we took two groups of 10-12 children. We served them food, had lessons with them, played games and shared a Bible story with them. It was not easy but we knew that God’s heart was beating for these children who are ignored and rejected by their community.
In this time the men in our construction team worked hard to make the three classrooms functionable in our centre. In the Spring of 2021, the classrooms were ready and we started to do the After-school program there.
Every day, directly after school at 12, we have three groups in the classes 1-4 which have 30-35 children. And in the afternoon, we have the classes 5-8 attending which represents 20-25 children.
In addition, we have a kindergarten program Tuesday and Wednesday from 10-11:30 with children that normally are not attending the public program.
Every day we have around 60 children from Seleus Roma community who benefit from the ministries of Restore. This means that they receive a meal, help with literacy and numeracy based on their level of understanding, clothing as required and the children also participate in a wide range of activities to help them integrate socially. All of this happens in an environment filled with love and care towards them.
The children know that this house is theirs and that what happens there is for them. Without help they have no chance in society.
God saw beforehand what was going to happen, He saw the needs of these children and He called the things that were not seen to prepare a way for them.
Manuela Balas (Restore Ministries, Romania)