"We don't want parents and kids to dread school because of expenses...."

- Nikolino: MWB Coordinator

You can prevent children like Tudor from dropping out of school

For children like Tudor – whose families live in poverty – starting school brings anxiety as parents worry about how to cover the costs of their school materials. The price of books, pens, notebooks and rulers, is high compared to what they earn. On top of that, many have lost their jobs or been unable to get the casual work they have relied on because of the pandemic. This has placed added pressure on families, with children at risk of dropping out of school altogether.

Tudor and his family live in an old house made of clay. The air inside is heavy, mould and humid, and it is difficult to breathe. Its cracked walls give the impression that they may collapse at any moment. Tudor's mother, Lena, opened up to us and said:

When I thought about how there were only a couple of days left until my son’s big day, it gave me the chills – I had nothing to offer him – no school bag…nothing.

 

Tudor is a happy child, always ready to help his parents, but his experience so far has taught him that because he is from a poor family he will be unpopular. "Kids like me can hardly make any friends," he says, "Nobody really wants to play with me, and I'm worried the teachers won't like me either."

Seeing the struggles the family were facing, Mission Without Borders started supporting them with food and hygiene parcels, regular visits and warm clothing for winter. But the biggest surprise was when Serghei, the MWB coordinator visited Tudor with a backpack full of materials

When I saw that Serghei was giving me such a wonderful school bag, I was so happy.

At the Mission we believe that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty in a family. Children are our future and we want to see them flourish and grow, together with the community they live in. This is why the partnerships MWB have with local churches and volunteers are so precious.

As Serghei says, 'When I first met Tudor he was a small withdrawn child, so serious almost all the time. He is one of the many children from our area who needs to be shown love and care – he is precious in God's eyes – and we want him to know how special and important he is."

MWB's educational support is inseparable from our spiritual support as we seek to reveal God as our Provider and heavenly Father to the children we work with. We have seen that education along with a deepening knowledge of God and his Word can create real and lasting change in a child's life.

This year, Mission Without Borders plans to distribute thousands of backpacks full of school supplies to children in Eastern Europe as part of our Back to School programme. We can only do this through your help. Your gift can open the door to new opportunities, hopes and dreams for children like Tudor.

A kind gift of £28 could provide a backpack and school materials for a child to ensure they don't drop out of school. A gift of £50 could cover the cost of meals for children when they attend one of our After School centres. And a very special gift of £70 could help cover some of the teaching resources and learnng materials used by children.

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Backpacks full of school supplies were distributed to children across Eastern Europe in 2021.

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