Dear Friends,
Allow me to tell you a story about a little girl
named Angela.
Angela is a beggar girl of eleven years old who
lives in Albania. She dresses as a boy for her own
safety, and goes by the boy’s name of Kristaq.
Everyday she and her brothers and sisters go out
to beg for money and to collect cans to cash in for
money. Angela told us that every day she has to
bring home at least 400 lek (about four dollars)
and give it to her father. If she doesn’t bring home
enough money, she is beaten and deprived of her
dinner, the only meal she gets each day, other
than what she scrounges from the dumpsters.
Allow me to tell you a story about a little girl
named Angela.
Angela is a beggar girl of eleven years old who
lives in Albania. She dresses as a boy for her own
safety, and goes by the boy’s name of Kristaq.
Everyday she and her brothers and sisters go out
to beg for money and to collect cans to cash in for
money. Angela told us that every day she has to
bring home at least 400 lek (about four dollars)
and give it to her father. If she doesn’t bring home
enough money, she is beaten and deprived of her
dinner, the only meal she gets each day, other
than what she scrounges from the dumpsters.
About Us
Angela is usually seen in a pair old, torn pants, a sweatshirt, and a winter ski hat she
wears to give the impression that she is a boy. She wears no shoes or socks, and her
feet are often scratched and bruised.
We befriended Angela and her siblings over a year ago, and every time we see them
we give them a bag of food or a coin or two. Unlike most beggars, she thanks us
profusely and is satisfied with what we give her and doesn’t beg for more. She has
come to trust us enough to reveal her true name and gender.
Last August, we were out walking with one of our Albanian friends down the Gjiro, a
part of the street that is closed down each evening so people can walk. As we walked,
we noticed Angela with a bag of aluminum cans on her back, walking down the street.
We watched as she moved towards a group of three teenage girls and a young man,
held out her hand and begged for a coin. The young man violently shoved her to the
ground, and then kicked her in the stomach before walking away, laughing. Sobbing,
she rocked back and forth, clutching her bleeding knee.
We helped her to her feet and gave her a dollar, more money than she had probably
ever gotten at one time. She smiled and thanked us through her tears, and than
walked to the side of the road where she picked up a large stone and put it in her
pocket, to protect herself in case her tormentors returned. We stayed nearby to make
sure the young people didn’t return to harass her even more. Within ten minutes they
were back, jeering and taunting her from the road. Angela reached into her pocket
and was preparing to throw the stone at her attackers when we reached her. I asked
her not to throw the stone but to just ignore them and return home. She nodded and
dropped the stone to the sidewalk before turning and walking home, holding back her
tears.
Because of a false image that Romas like to steal and refuse to live like normal
people, the Romas have long been rejected by the people of Europe, and in fact,
the whole world.
The sad truth is that the Romas live like they do only because they have no other
choice. No one will give a Roma a job, and so they have no way to earn a living
except for stealing or begging. They live in make-shift shacks because they have no
where else to go. They are illiterate because they are not allowed in school. The
Romas live like this not of their own choice, but because they can see no other way.
Angela is just one of many such children in Albania. Dirty, ragged, hungry, and poor,
they roam the streets hoping to find some kind person that will give them a ten lek
coin or a crust of bread. Many of them have never had a square meal in their lives,
never worn a pair of shoes, never held a doll or a teddy bear, never heard the name
of Jesus.
On June 1, 2007, International Children's Day, we opened up a center to help the
Roma and street children. Currently we have a girls school that has 30 girls enrolled,
where they can have hot meals as well as schooling. We also have a band-aid clinic
where simple ailments can be treated.
We also just recently opened a food distribution center where the mothers can come
and get bags with foods such as rice, beans, oil, salt, vegetables, and more to feed
their families.
We want to help these children, and we are asking for your help to accomplish this. If
you would like to aid these children by donating funds to help run this center please e-
mail us at – donate@projectroma.com or write to:
Project: Roma
P.O. Box 1405
Altoona, F.L.
32702
If you would like a tax deductible receipt, please write out checks to Umatilla SDA
Church, but specify in the memo - Project: Roma.
If a receipt is not important to you, you can send the funds directly by writing out your
check to Megan Mays, and in the memo - Project: Roma.
Thank you for you help and support.
~ Megan Mays
Director, Project: Roma
This project is not connected with my parents work with AFM. Project: Roma is a
separate project funded almost entirely by donations given through the Umatilla SDA
Church.
wears to give the impression that she is a boy. She wears no shoes or socks, and her
feet are often scratched and bruised.
We befriended Angela and her siblings over a year ago, and every time we see them
we give them a bag of food or a coin or two. Unlike most beggars, she thanks us
profusely and is satisfied with what we give her and doesn’t beg for more. She has
come to trust us enough to reveal her true name and gender.
Last August, we were out walking with one of our Albanian friends down the Gjiro, a
part of the street that is closed down each evening so people can walk. As we walked,
we noticed Angela with a bag of aluminum cans on her back, walking down the street.
We watched as she moved towards a group of three teenage girls and a young man,
held out her hand and begged for a coin. The young man violently shoved her to the
ground, and then kicked her in the stomach before walking away, laughing. Sobbing,
she rocked back and forth, clutching her bleeding knee.
We helped her to her feet and gave her a dollar, more money than she had probably
ever gotten at one time. She smiled and thanked us through her tears, and than
walked to the side of the road where she picked up a large stone and put it in her
pocket, to protect herself in case her tormentors returned. We stayed nearby to make
sure the young people didn’t return to harass her even more. Within ten minutes they
were back, jeering and taunting her from the road. Angela reached into her pocket
and was preparing to throw the stone at her attackers when we reached her. I asked
her not to throw the stone but to just ignore them and return home. She nodded and
dropped the stone to the sidewalk before turning and walking home, holding back her
tears.
Because of a false image that Romas like to steal and refuse to live like normal
people, the Romas have long been rejected by the people of Europe, and in fact,
the whole world.
The sad truth is that the Romas live like they do only because they have no other
choice. No one will give a Roma a job, and so they have no way to earn a living
except for stealing or begging. They live in make-shift shacks because they have no
where else to go. They are illiterate because they are not allowed in school. The
Romas live like this not of their own choice, but because they can see no other way.
Angela is just one of many such children in Albania. Dirty, ragged, hungry, and poor,
they roam the streets hoping to find some kind person that will give them a ten lek
coin or a crust of bread. Many of them have never had a square meal in their lives,
never worn a pair of shoes, never held a doll or a teddy bear, never heard the name
of Jesus.
On June 1, 2007, International Children's Day, we opened up a center to help the
Roma and street children. Currently we have a girls school that has 30 girls enrolled,
where they can have hot meals as well as schooling. We also have a band-aid clinic
where simple ailments can be treated.
We also just recently opened a food distribution center where the mothers can come
and get bags with foods such as rice, beans, oil, salt, vegetables, and more to feed
their families.
We want to help these children, and we are asking for your help to accomplish this. If
you would like to aid these children by donating funds to help run this center please e-
mail us at – donate@projectroma.com or write to:
Project: Roma
P.O. Box 1405
Altoona, F.L.
32702
If you would like a tax deductible receipt, please write out checks to Umatilla SDA
Church, but specify in the memo - Project: Roma.
If a receipt is not important to you, you can send the funds directly by writing out your
check to Megan Mays, and in the memo - Project: Roma.
Thank you for you help and support.
~ Megan Mays
Director, Project: Roma
This project is not connected with my parents work with AFM. Project: Roma is a
separate project funded almost entirely by donations given through the Umatilla SDA
Church.
For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me…
Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.
Matthew 25:35-40
gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me…
Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.
Matthew 25:35-40
Project: Roma P.O. Box 1405, Altoona, FL 32702 352.505.7400
Want information about donating? donate@projectroma.com
Need some information? info@projectroma.com
Site problems? admin@projectroma.com
Need some information? info@projectroma.com
Site problems? admin@projectroma.com
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