Barnet to Beius

From Barnet to Beius, Romania

Twenty Volunteers have set out from Brent Cross in Barnet to change the lives of orphans and other underprivileged families in Beius, Romania. Romania is regarded as the poorhouse of Europe.

Working in partnership with an Oxford based Charity, ‘Habitat for Humanity’, the team is made up of twenty men across the age spectrum from Jesus House Church.

The twenty men have been digging trenches, laying foundation, bending iron, laying bricks, lifting and cutting masonry, making insulations, and creating roof trusses. One of the volunteers, Charles Stephenson, who served in Iraq said, "this is just as much work as being on the war front in Bagdad but it’s great to know that we are building hope and peace as well as new homes."

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The team is led by Colin Tomlin, the head of the Men’s ministry at Jesus House and they have been working in the towns of Beius and Oredia on the North Western tip of the Transylvanian range. With populations of 30,000 and 200,000 respectively, these towns have both harboured a large population of Romanian orphans who are still trying to get a decent living in a post-Ciausescu era.

Romania continues to suffer badly and poverty remains rife after a legacy of 40 years of severe communism. Civil society and social services have had to be reconstructed from scratch.

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Says Colin Tomlin: We started planning for this trip Nine months ago and it’s great to see it has now become a reality. Our motivation for doing this is taken from the bible which says that whatever good that you do to people in need and in trouble, will be seen as a service to God.

At Jesus House, we see ourselves as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ – representing Him in the present day. The team have spent 8 days in Romania and have worked on 8 homes for families in need. Members of the team included professional carpenters, engineers, builders and Site Project Managers but Colin Tomlin quickly points out that working with Habitat for Humanity means that anyone with a willing heart can serve in this way.

Habitat was founded in the nineteen seventies as a charity to build sustainable housing for people who have either no homes or are in poverty housing. They operate in over 90 countries around the world and have built several thousand homes to date.

Jesus House’s Head of Communications, Mr Ayo Adedoyin (who was also on the build) said "It was a great way to positively impact the lives of so many people who would otherwise be living in squalor. We definitely hope to do this again and would welcome as many people from this community to get involved."
For further information or to get involved in a future build, contact Ayo Adedoyin at Jesus House on 020 8438 8285 or email: adedoyina@jesushouse.org.uk

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