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 program 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 neighborhood. 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.