See my bio and photo for what I will be doing in Romania and the 12 hour, 22 mile walk to raise money for it. This is the story of the 'House of Grace' Project and the vision behind what they do which you can access here: https://vimeo.com/66895114 (password: 1988). The video is around 20 minutes long so if you are not able to spare that time here is a summary:
Ben and Maria Medrea, the founders, left Romania in 1990.
They speak of how those with Down's Syndrome were treated under the Communist Regime in Romania and how they had been locked up. Seeing a community where these people do things for themselves and serve around the house was the spark of the vision that led them to start a similar community in Romania (on video see 3.55-5.10). They felt led to go back and make a difference so they started up a community in Romania for those with disabilities in partnership with Crusaders Charity which started with setting up tents in the middle of no where.
Ben speaks of how people in Romania have been ashamed to help disabled people because they were seen as cursed and as having done something wrong to deserve their condition (11.20-12.23).
Maria mentions a family where one of the members had Polio and how people said that this person was possessed by demons. She couldn't believe that because the family were so nice. She compares the situation with England (12.23-14.40).
The video includes three testimonies of those with disabilities in Romania today (15.05-17.25) followed by an explanation of the current situation, what House of Grace is doing, how things are improving and what the vision is in seeing change in attitudes (17.25-19.05).
The video finishes with the leaders sharing their vision for the future (20.20-21.50).
I would very much appreciate any support you can lend to this. If you have any questions or would like to know more feel free to facebook, text or email me at jamesfarley1307@hotmail.co.uk. Thanks for taking the time to read this and for your support.