Welcome to Belief in Action where faith meets compassion and transforms lives
Charity No. 327245
New Project - Heat for Homes
Homes provided with new stoves – see ‘News’
New 'Baby Project'
Support for babies to save lives – see ‘News’
Volunteer Visits
Next visit planned for Spring – see ‘News’
What we do
Equipping
By providing time, skills, knowledge and resources to those in need.
What we do
Partnering
By working together and alongside pastors, teams, charities and organisations.
What we do
Establishing
By creating lasting and sustainable changes in communities and lives.
Our Story
Working for nearly 40 years in and around Romania, we are acutely aware of the thousands of children, adults and elderly who are suffering through neglect, poverty and disability. Many needlessly experience severe and heart-breaking difficulties in their lives.
With a unique blend of love, support and practical assistance, we empower individuals by delivering resources and support for sustainable community-based projects to alleviate poverty and suffering. Join us on this incredible journey as we extend our helping hand, providing volunteer visits, essential resources and a community of support. Together we can be the change that transforms lives.
Vision
In areas of acute poverty there are two amazing projects we are really excited about, conceived by partners who inspire us and who work tirelessly to show Jesus’ love for those in their communities who are marginalised, poor, orphaned, or sick in mind and spirit.
Hope without Limits in Sacele – operating from the new Mission House, Pastor Otto Kiss has a real heart for children, teenagers, the disabled and disadvantaged. He has an inspiring vision to build a centre in the heart of his community to provide a safe haven and meeting place for able-bodied and disabled people. A local businessman has donated some land. There are plans to develop a micro farm and be self-sufficient, whilst engaging people with disabilities in paid or volunteer work.
Asociata Teleios in Reghin – Pastor Attila Toth’s vision to serve his local, impoverished community has resulted in increased church members and a wide range of social action projects. He pastors 6 churches, manages a farm, a horticultural enterprise, a home for unwanted babies, an educational programme for gypsy children, a refuge for ‘at risk’ girls and a multipurpose building from which income is generated through the sale of vegetables and second hand goods with an aim for self-sufficiency.
Romania
We support the growing work of these two pastors and their charities amongst rural communities where they are having a real impact. Conditions in these villages – where small derelict houses have no running water, heating, electricity or toilets – are shocking. People face problems of overcrowding, poor sanitation, insufficient shelter and food insecurity on a daily basis. Many scavenge the local tip for food. Without hope and the belief that life can be better, the motivation and energy needed to break the poverty cycle are very low.
Romania has a failing health care system and many, particularly in rural areas, are suffering needlessly because they do not have access to disability aids and are struggling with life. Long held prejudices to disability mean life can be a struggle and children with special needs are left to vegetate. Many have been marginalised and made to feel ashamed; they are often fearful and scared to leave their homes.
What we do
- We deliver resources, and share skills and knowledge to increasingly sustainable projects run by trusted contacts, local churches and charities who are working in their own communities to break the cycle of poverty, alleviate suffering and engender a positive attitude towards disability.
- We facilitate a disability aid loan scheme, collecting equipment destined for landfill in the UK and transporting it to a local charity, Hope without Limits in Romania for distribution. Increasing numbers of people are being helped and enabled to live more fulfilling lives.
- We facilitate groups of healthcare professional and other ‘enthusiastic’ volunteers on trips to Romania, where they spend time assisting people with disabilities, assessing individuals, and providing education and training in disability awareness for the volunteer Hope team (Hope without Limits). There are also plenty of tasks to be done for willing volunteers with or without healthcare related skills. Further details can be found at the bottom of our website.
Supporting and Helping the Disabled
Sadly in much of Romania there is still a stigma attached to those who have a disability, especially in the villages and rural areas. They face inequality and discrimination in almost every aspect of their lives. We believe that disabled people should have the same opportunities as everyone else. With a failing healthcare system and little spare money, the situation has improved little over the years. The need for basic healthcare, health education, therapy and medical care is huge.
Our faith
Our faith in Jesus Christ motivates, inspires and sustains everything we are and do. We put our beliefs into action by working alongside partners to change the lives of children and adults in Romania disadvantaged by poverty, ethnicity and/or disability.
Ottó Kis’ Story (Hope without Limits)
Ottó, has a real heart for the disabled and disadvantaged in his community. When he arrived in Săcele. he went door to door in the villages to find those needing help. He found, sadly, many were lonely, struggling and feeling abandoned. He continued to visit their homes to offer practical help chopping wood and shopping.
Touched by their plight, Ottó has started a number of initiatives, particularly support groups and holistic day care sessions for children and adults. Isolation is a real problem and these provide a social outlet for chatting, group activities, and spiritual help with a meal together. A time of real friendship and respite. Ottó’s ministry has developed over the years and they are reaching ever-increasing numbers of people with disabilities who need help and assistance.
In the large gypsy village just outside Săcele. the roads are poor, most buildings are unfinished, and houses have no running water or heating. Families wash clothes and dishes outside and they heat the house with a stove. Generational poverty brings hopelessness and despair. Without hope and the belief that life can be better, the motivation and energy needed to break the cycle are very low.
Supplying much needed disability aid equipment
Ottó’s team runs our Disability Aid Loan Scheme. Set up to help the disabled improve their mobility and encourage them to become more independent, it is now flourishing and changing lives. Word is spreading and people are travelling from long distances to obtain equipment. There is a great need for this due to the scarcity of walking frames and other disability equipment.
Therapists/Volunteer trips to Romania
Such is the success of his work, we arrange for groups of therapists and other ‘enthusiastic’ volunteers to visit. The therapists facilitate and provide advice, support and specialist training to Ottó and the Hope team. They also visit individual homes and institutions to increase awareness of aid and equipment, assessing various needs, advising about mobility and accessibility to buildings, and teaching some basic physiotherapy which would enable a better quality of life.
“I went for a week. With very few resources or infrastructure the service provision is incredible. The dedication of the Hope volunteers, and the maximising and organisation of resources is humbling. Carers, families and clients themselves receive a fantastically high level of support, care, information and love. The clients are treated as though they are family, with nothing being too much trouble to organise. There is a real ‘can do’ attitude, with the question being asked ‘Why not?’” – Donna Bayliss, Head of ESD and Neuro, Wiltshire Health and Care
Attila Toth’s Story (Asociata Teleios)
“Even though I have been working among the gypsies for 20 years, I am still shocked at how poor some families are among them.”
Attila’s work in rural village communities is having a real impact. Conditions are shocking – people face problems of overcrowding, poor sanitation, insufficient shelter and food insecurity on a daily basis. Hungry rats are a constant problem, biting adults, children and babies as they sleep. Generational poverty is rampant leading to hopelessness.
Dealing with poverty among the gypsies has always been a significant need. There is a constant need to look for ways to help them provide the basic needs for their families.
Education is a big part of Attila’s plan. He believes that in providing opportunities to learn, the people will be more equipped to provide for themselves. The after-school club is growing and helping children with their education and they feed around 100 children a day.
A newly built Children’s Home accommodates 11 children and their foster parents. The background stories of these children are truly shocking but with love, nurture and professional counselling most of the children are responding well.
Attila has a farming programme with industrial sized poly tunnels, a pig farm and chicken coops to provide work and income for some of the people, and to generate funding to run the after-school club and Children’s Home. A second hand store is proving a great success and provides funds for many of their other projects.
As well as looking after the welfare of many, offering material and spiritual hope, Attila is inspirational in his drive to bring hope to his community. There are many sad stories.
A family with 9 children came to the attention of his wife, Adél, when the young daughter came to a youth meeting with a baby – her little brother. Adél realised the baby was starving and would soon die if something wasn’t done. She started supplying nappies and Formula every week and now runs a project to help babies in similar circumstances live long enough to fend for themselves.
Big hearts for little feet
Seven vulnerable babies are now being helped to survive by Adél Toth through her project ‘Big Hearts for Little Feet’ around Reghin. She was moved to help after finding an emaciated baby being cared for by his young teenage sister. Adél realised the baby was starving and would soon die if something wasn’t done. Both parents try to find relief from acute poverty through alcohol, and child support is spent on alcohol.
She has been supplying nappies and formula milk every week for these babies at a cost of around £100 per month for each baby.
There are many other children in similar situations and each year some die through dehydration, under-nourishment and from the cold in winter.
Adél is continuing to develop a means of supporting such infants, who if they can survive until about 2 yrs, can start to scavenge, even on garbage heaps, for themselves and hopefully survive, although winter temperatures are a huge threat.
Honey for Hope
After several years running a local market stall selling our wonderful Transylvanian honey, Penny has decided to call it a day and use her considerable talents to raise money for us in other diverse ways.
Thank you so much Penny for all the cold, wet and windy days you have stood there, and to others who have bottled the honey, helped set up the stall and volunteered to sell. We are truly grateful.
Over the years we have raised enough from sales to buy an accessible mini bus for Otto, sent over £2,500 to his charity, bought a car for Petru and Ramona, paid for an aid lorry, sent £4,500 to Attila Toth’s charity and, ongoing, it will help fund Hope without Limits as they endeavour to become more self-sufficient.
The remaining barrels have been given to St Johns Church in Colchester and they will continue to sell jars in support of Attila Toth.
New Project - Heat for Homes
Reghin: Attila recently shared with us the number of poor homes in his community where there is no safe source of heating or cooking. As always, it is the children and elderly who are most affected. Through the generosity of people who were touched by this, we were able to provide funds for Attila to install 30 stoves in homes without heating or cooking facilities. These stoves not only keep the room warm but also serve as a tool for parents to prepare hot meals.
In addition, generous donors have contributed funds for Attila to buy enough firewood to supply 18 homes with fuel for this winter.
We are immensely grateful to everyone who has made this project possible. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we were able make a real difference in the community.
Christmas Shoe Boxes
Over the Christmas period, together with our partners in Romania, we embarked on a heartfelt mission to bring hope and joy to families in desperate need.
The dedicated teams in Sacele and Reghin distributed hundreds of Christmas shoe boxes and food parcels to those living in dire poverty. For many children, these were the only gifts they received, and the happiness they brought was immeasurable.
We extend our deepest gratitude to all who contributed to this wonderful operation, whether through donations, supplying Christmas shoe boxes, assisting with logistics, offering prayers, or aiding in the distribution.
We believe that by uplifting the least fortunate among us, we are honouring a greater purpose. Together, let us continue to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Volunteer Visits
We facilitate groups of healthcare professional and other enthusiastic volunteers on trips to Romania, where they spend time assisting people with disabilities, assessing individuals and providing education and training in disability awareness for the volunteer Hope team (Hope without Limits). With a deep commitment to faith and compassion, we work tirelessly to provide them with the support, resources and care they deserve.
There are also plenty of tasks to be done for willing volunteers with or without healthcare related skills. Further details can be found at the bottom of our website.
Through our volunteer visits, we aim to lift the spirits of those we come into contact with and help bring hope into their lives. Join us in making a difference and together, let’s bring smiles to the faces of those in need.
We are beginning to plan our next trip for Spring 2024. If you are interested, we have more information at the bottome of our web page. Join us in making a difference and together, let’s bring smiles to the faces of those in need.
Vision for the Hope Centre Update
For many years Otto Kis has had the plight of the disabled living in his community on his heart. In Romania, many buildings, including churches, are inaccessible to the disabled leaving them isolated.
As you know, it’s been his God-given vision to build a multi-functional, all-inclusive church centre (Hope Centre) in the heart of the community where those who are neglected by society can be loved, cared for and given a better quality of life. This project is now a step closer. A group of stakeholders from Romania met with us last year on a whirlwind two-day tour visiting inspirational Christian organisations who have already developed similar centres in the UK.
Following this visit, we have been co-ordinating efforts to move this plan forward and Otto and team have discussed initial ideas and plans for the land that has been donated and, during the lockdown, we have been doing some serious and very necessary planning. We have also commissioned a short film to explain the initial vision.
This centre will provide a meeting place for day care, therapeutic intervention, community church and spiritual care, community nursing services, and a focus for visiting groups to run health care clinics. It could provide a training centre – for carers, the Hope without Limits team, interested young people and a possible placement for final year therapy students. It would also be wonderful for the centre to also provide respite beds to relieve carers.
The centre would also house the Disability Equipment Loan Scheme and provide a direct link when children and people are assessed. They can be blessed with drinks, cake and a raised toilet seat! The warehouse we use at the moment is rented and not easily accessible by the public.
The plan is also to develop the land for self-sufficiency and grow social enterprises or small businesses to help off-set the running costs for such a venture.
Volunteer Visits to our projects
We organise trips to Romania for groups of healthcare professionals and other ‘enthusiastic’ volunteers, with a focus on supporting the local community in Săcele, near Braşov. We are beginning to plan our next trip for Spring 2024.
This beautiful mountainous area is home to both Hungarian and Romanian speaking people, as well as Ukrainian refugees. Our partner charity, Hope Without Limits, led by Pastor Ottó Kis, is a faith-based organisation. Whilst this is an overriding motivator for those involved, anyone is welcome whether of the same, different or no faith.
Programme of activities
During our trips, there are various activities that participants can see and/or get involved with. These include working with children’s groups, conducting home visits and assessments, supporting carers groups, facilitating workshops, engaging with disabled adults in social groups, supporting therapy sessions, offering training, helping with our equipment loan scheme, and assisting with a food bank. We also provide support to a gypsy village in the area.
Transport
We fly from Luton to Braşov. As this requires an early departure, we recommend staying in Luton the night before. From Braşov, it is a short 15-minute drive to Săcele. Throughout the week, we arrange internal transport using borrowed cars or minibuses, and we kindly request participants to contribute approximately £50 to cover these costs.
Accommodation
This will be arranged at the Zuriel Centre, which offers basic but comfortable and clean rooms. The cost of a double room is approximately £40-50 per night. We ask participants to settle their own accommodation expenses upon check-out.
Food
For meals, we recommend you allow approximately £20 per person per day. In the evenings, we aim to eat together, either at local restaurants or by self-catering. However, during the day, our meal arrangements may vary depending on our activities and the composition of our teams.
It is important to note catering for dietary requirements, such as vegetarian or gluten-free, can be more challenging in rural settings, whilst towns like Braşov usually offer reasonable options.
Through our volunteer visits, we aim to lift the spirits of those we come into contact with and help bring hope into their lives. Join us in making a difference and together, let’s bring smiles to the faces of those in need. Use the contact form below for more information.
Gallery
We have many exciting developments and opportunities planned for 2024.
Our partner Graft for Growth is running cycling and walking holidays in Romania to raise money for our projects, mainly in Săcele.
If you like a bit of adventure on holiday, check out their website and start exploring the beautiful countryside of Romania, whilst helping some of the most disadvantaged groups of people in Europe. The cycling and walking trips include parts of what has been described as the new ‘Yellowstone Park’.
We have been working with Graft for Growth – who strive to alleviate poverty and develop community through sustainable projects – for many years.