Romanian Street Children (Romania)

This is without a doubt the most difficult story I have ever written; mainly because I have had to remember all of the children we have met who are forgotten, abused, and thrown away by society. These children don’t understand what is happening to them. They don’t understand what they did to deserve their situation. They don’t understand why very few people "really" care about them. They don’t understand the world they have been born into. Their home is the streets and many times their closest friend is a stray dog.

They don’t know what it is like to go to bed at night with a Mommy or Daddy to tuck them in, hold them, and hug away their hurts. Their bed is the ground and they will lie there having to deal with their pain and confusion all alone!

If you walk around the cities of Romania you will find children living and begging on the streets, some as young as five years old. They come up to you asking for food and money; they are often without shoes and very dirty. Many of these children will have either run away from orphanages or from home. Many children will sleep by day and stay up at night for fear of being hurt in the darkness. They organize into gangs and the weaker ones are usually controlled and abused. Many girls cut their hair to try to make themselves look like boys over fear of being raped. Prostitution rings develop and it is not uncommon to see a young teenage girl holding a baby of her own. She can earn more money begging if she is holding a baby. Many children try to deaden their pain by destroying their minds by sniffing glue.

Some children begging on the streets are not really orphans. They live at home, but are sent out all day by parents or relatives to "work the streets" and bring home money to support an adult’s alcohol habit. Many times these children are told not to come home unless they have made a certain amount of money.

The Romanian street children problem looks dire to say the least, but with God there is always hope and always an answer!

Eleos International Ministries helps to support Romanian Christians as they reach out to the hurting and abandoned children of their country. Your donations help us to build these partnerships so that hurting children may find hope and a future.