Romania Joins Buckner International Foster Care, Sponsors Needed
By Felicia Fuller
Under a partnership with Pathway to Joy Ministries, Buckner Orphan Care International (BOCI) has announced the addition of Oradea, Romania, to its international foster care program.
“We are excited about partnering with Pathway to Joy because it fits our program philosophy and provides a way to make sure these children will stay out of the orphanage system and receive the benefit of living in a loving Christian home,” said Amy Norton, program director for BOCI, which launched its international foster care program in 1999 in Vladimir, Russia, and expanded to St. Petersburg and Kenya in 2003.
With offices in Oradea and Hollywood, Fla., Pathway to Joy provides food, clothing, medical care and other aid to abandoned, abused and neglected children in Romania. The ministry is contracted by Oradea Child Protective Services to provide foster care and, currently, 19 children have been placed with Christian foster families in the region. Pathway to Joy founders Karen and Cornel Bucur sought Buckner’s assistance with training and finances for its foster care program in 2005, after a successful partnership on a Shoes for Orphan Souls (SOS) distribution mission trip in 2004.
Malvina-Cristina Boszormeny is among 19 foster children in Oradea, Romania, for whom Buckner is seeking sponsorship through its partnership with Pathway to Joy Ministries.
“The next step is for Buckner to find sponsors for children currently in care and then start adding new children to the program,” said Amy Norton. “We need sponsorships for 19 foster children at $75 a month [or $900 per year] for each child. We are asking for a year’s commitment. In turn, sponsors will receive a photo and profile of their sponsored child, along with annual progress reports.”
Tiffany Taylor, marketing director for BOCI and SOS said the SOS mission team she led met many of the foster children in Oradea during a 2004 visit to the Bucur’s church in Romania and, she reported, “It was obvious the children were thriving.”
Taylor 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,” she said. “Children in our foster care programs are doing exceptionally well.
“Pathway to Joy also has many great programs with local churches to help prevent children from becoming orphans and to support the orphans of Oradea. This partnership is the perfect opportunity for us to impact the children of Romania.”
