Programs

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.”“These words encapsulate precisely the approach that Casa Grace staff and volunteers take to help both the urban and rural poor communities of Bihor County, Romania to cope with the devastating effects of poverty on their lives. Stuck in the cycle of poverty, while inflation and an unstable economy wreak havoc on their ability to make ends meet, many families turn to Casa Grace for help. There is where the Families in Difficulty program comes in. Casa Grace provides financial, material, spiritual, emotional and educational support to qualified families in need, usually for a period of six months to two years, with a follow-up year of monitoring. To qualify for the services of the Families in Difficulty program, at least one adult member of the family must be employed so as not to create complete dependence on social services. In addition, children must attend school, a clear indication of the family’s belief in the value of education.

Casa Grace’s method of providing these services begins first of all with assessing the needs of a particular family, and then developing a service plan. Initial aid is generally in the form of food, clothing, plus household necessities and materials that make a home safe and warm for frigid Romanian winters. In addition, Casa Grace staff and volunteers help families gain access to government assistance programs for which they qualify.At the same time material assistance is being given, staff and volunteers also work on whatever spiritual, emotional, and/or educational problems hamper the family’s ability to break out of the cycle of poverty.  Help often comes in the form of counseling to assuage the guilt, shame, and withdrawal associated with poverty. Casa Grace also helps in developing skills to assist in parenting and social reintegration, as well as spiritual assistance to provide hope and optimism for the future.

The Casa Grace staff believes that this multi-faceted approach to working with their clientele provides the support necessary to help them emerge from their predicament and eventually become a stable family unit, growing stronger and more capable of coping with the rigors of a difficult life.

Casa Grace currently assists dozens of urban and rural families in the Bihor County area of Romania, located in the northwestern corner of the country. Ethnically they include a mixed population of Romanian, Hungarian and Roma families whose religious affiliations vary from the Romanian Orthodox, Evangelical Christian, and Catholic faith communities. Casa Grace serves and aids only a small percentage of potential families who could qualify for services. As is often the case, a limited amount of staff, qualified volunteers, and funds prevent Casa Grace from expanding its services to this needy population.

Casa Grace also provides financial aid to help rural high school children gain access to school. While a high school education is free in Romania, families are responsible for getting their children to the high school. Since Romanian high schools are usually located in the larger towns and cities, poor rural families are frequently unable to handle the cost of transportation or the room and board required if the child is to stay at or near the high school.

We realize that the world is a big place, and there are poor and needy people in all countries. But Casa Grace’s purpose is to help those in our local community, since we cannot realistically save the entire world.  God uses other ministries for those purposes, and He uses us to help the urban and rural poor of Bihor County here in northwestern Romania.  We appreciate your interest in what we do here, and please pray as to whether God might be leading you to help these desperate people in some way.”

“The Vocational Training Center Program of the Casa Grace Foundation seeks to help fulfill the mission of the ministry,  which is:  ‘To enhance the human well-being by meeting the physical, social, and emotional needs of the people from the urban and rural areas of Bihor Country, Romania by providing counseling, training, material assistance, and emotional support in Christian love.’  The Vocational Training Center Program, as the name indicates, directly fulfills the training portion of the mission statement, to help people through ‘training . . . in Christian love.’  This program seeks to provide people with practical, necessary, and relevant job skills to enable them to find good, steady jobs. In this way they can help themselves and their families and eventually get out of the cycle of poverty. The Vocational Training Center Program consists of two main areas:  Sewing classes and Computer classes.

The sewing classes exist for obvious reasons:  to provide those interested with sewing skills so they can find a job and make a living to support themselves and their families.  These classes last for 6 months, and upon graduation the ones who finished successfully can take their newfound knowledge and skills and seek jobs in sewing.  It is usually not very hard for them to find jobs here in Oradea, because many people still cannot afford to buy new clothes, so sewing clothes is very common here.  This is a very good and practical skill to have in Romania.  The class is open to men and women, young and old, though the largest percentage of students often tends to be middle-aged women.  Many of them had very little education as children when Romania was a communist country, and now they want to do something to improve their family situation. Or in some cases, perhaps their husbands died and now they must raise their children alone.  The cases vary, but Casa Grace’s determination to help the less fortunate does not change, and the sewing class portion of the Vocational Training Center program helps meet a real need in the urban and rural areas of Bihor Country, Romania.

Along with the sewing classes are computer classes.  These classes have the same purpose as the sewing classes:  to provide interested persons with computer skills so they can find a job and make a living to support themselves and their families.  There are 2 different computer classes offered.  One is a 6-week class in which the graduates, upon completion, receive a legally recognized diploma throughout the European Union.  This diploma helps them in obtaining a job in the area of computers. The other class is a more advanced class and lasts for 4 months. The students in this class generally learn more because it is longer and they cover more areas than in the 6-week class, but they receive no officially recognized diploma upon completion.  Most people take this class just for their own knowledge and benefit.  With this advanced computer knowledge they can usually find a good job and receive a respectful salary by Romanian standards.

Both the sewing and computer classes are very practical ways in which Casa Grace, through the Vocational Training Center Program, is helping the less fortunate of Bihor County, Romania to improve their life situations and escape the cycle of poverty.

God has used this program to help many people find good jobs and to bring a sense of dignity and respect to their lives, since they are often the outcasts of society. Our prayer is that He uses it for many years to come in the same way, helping hundreds and even thousands of needy people to have the opportunity for a normal and happy life.

Please pray and consider ways in which God might want you to help the less fortunate here in Bihor County, Romania.  There are many ways to help, the most important of which is to pray.  We hope you will keep us in your prayers regularly, and also help Casa Grace in other ways if God so leads you.”

	“In November of 1999, the Casa Grace Foundation, along with the help of a British occupational therapist, founded a recuperative program for children called “Kingdom Kids” at the CPI orphanage in Oradea. From infancy to the age of sixteen, many children have been diagnosed with neuro-psychiatric disorders, including autism and hydrocephaly. Many of these children cannot feed themselves, eat solid food, brush their teeth, play, or even walk. In addition, all of them have severe speech impediments.
The goal of the Kingdom Kids program from its inception has been to increase the level of function and quality of life for all of these disadvantaged children. Using large doses of love and affection, stimulation through play and exercise, and the techniques of occupational therapy, Casa Grace staff and volunteers have been able to establish trusting relationships with most of these children. As a result, many of them have demonstrated significant mental and physical progress. This progress has made it possible for many from the program to transition to special schools and kindergartens, foster care, family houses, or to other Casa Grace programs.
The CPI orphanage was closed in 2005 and the children were moved into family group homes in an attempt for Romania to get into the European Union.  That happened on January 1, 2007, but the lives of these children are still severely affected from years of neglect in orphanages, and even being in a ‘family-type’ atmosphere now does not erase all of the damage already done.  Because of this the Kingdom Kids program is still very much a vital ministry of the Casa Grace Foundation and has shown no signs of slowing down.
Many of these children are severely handicapped and need much therapy. Currently they receive many kinds of therapy in the Kingdom Kids program.  A short list includes: Physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, speech therapy, psychological counseling, etc. Working with those less fortunate has always been the bedrock goal of the Casa Grace Foundation. Therapists with the Kingdom Kids program clearly work with the most innocent of all: children with severe disabilities. Through their dedication and consistent perseverance, the Casa Grace staff and volunteers of the Kingdom Kids program will continue to help improve the quality of life of those least able to improve it for themselves.”