Romania (MNN)–With Romania’s moratorium on international adoptions in place, there are up to 80,000 orphans stuck in the system.
Cornel Bucur of ‘Pathway to Joy’ partnered with Buckner Orphan Care to help meet their needs through foster care.
But they also began tackling what they saw was a root problem. “Planting a church in a village where kids are abandoned is probably the solution to the abandonment, so we introduce the families to Jesus Christ, so we form churches, and then we teach them about the value of human life, which is and yes, the reason why a lot of people abandon.”
Over the course of building the ministry, the team saw funding as a major challenge in an area where diapers were in rare supply.
But that changed after a successful partnership on a Shoes for Orphan Souls (SOS) distribution mission trip in 2004.
Karen Bucur says with Buckner’s financial support, it enables them to see their ministry grow in Oradea, Romania. “Basically, we’re trying to do three things. We’re trying to protect the kids, we’re trying to provide them families and we’re looking at permanent solutions for adoption or for long term foster care, and they’re helping us do those three things more efficiently.”
Tiffany Taylor, marketing director for BOCI and SOS, added that the partnership with Pathway to Joy is especially rewarding because BOCI “had been praying about starting foster care in Romania. The foster care program continues to be one of Buckner’s most successful programs abroad.”
