Fundatia Increderea [FI] was set up as a UK registered charity in 1997 after Susannah Collins from ChristChurch had spent her Gap year [+4!] working out in Romania. She started at Caminul Felix, an orphanage near Oradea in Bihor, which is the north-western region of Romania. Many of the social problems she identified were due in no small measure to the problems of alcoholism, extreme poverty and the inability of the agencies and hospitals to give the necessary treatment or support to individuals / to families affected. Over the ensuing years many members of CCW have supported the work of FI, financially, prayerfully and by visiting and sharing in the team’s activities,
joining with others from around the UK and the USA.
25 years later, some things have improved but we, and the team in Romania,
continue to say …
We believe change is possible
We deliver effective and responsive services to support the mental health and wellbeing of people with alcohol and drug problems. Our work is embedded in local communities through strong partnerships with institutions, hospitals, NGOs, schools, and other specialists.
Our programmes include:
- individual and group therapies for those struggling with addictions and for those around them.
- preventative education for institutions including schools.
- personal development learning programmes.
- ad hoc relief work, supporting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our communities.
Group and Individual Therapies
Our counselling programme is now running again, almost back to normal, although the groups are smaller and more frequent. Our number has grown with new members, and we are delighted to see an increase in the number of women coming forward for support. The co-dependency group is also fully-functioning again, busy with people determined to aid the recovery of loved ones and do all they can to support them.
Delivering to Vulnerable Community Members
Families facing serious difficulty and struggling to survive have not been forgotten during this time. Through donations received we are able to provide basic supplies to some of the most vulnerable in our communities. We express our heartfelt thanks to all involved. It has been a humbling experience.
With the recommencement of meetings, in our old way, face to face, the group reconfirms its purpose:
- We are alcoholics,
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- It was not easy for us to admit that we had become dependent; we had lost our freedom and become prisoners of a substance. We told many lies, to ourselves and to others.
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- This is why we came here
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- Because we want to honestly address the past, to reflect, to understand how we got here and to find a solution, a way out
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- This is why we come back
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- Because we sincerely hope that together we will learn to believe in God, to have faith in ourselves and in other people. Until now we have only broken the things around us, from now on we seek to build….a new life.
- We, all of us here, know that we are doing all we can to understand, to accept one another as we are and where necessary to hold up a mirror for others to look in. We give thanks.
- We can put down our masks and no longer need to play a part as if upon a stage.
Our shared wish is that this day will be a part of our healing, both of body and of soul.
Thank you ChristChurch for standing with us through the past and into a new future.
Updated August 2021