Roma

Transforming Children’s Lives

Rachel Chimits

Our partners in Albania are working with the children of Europe’s most persecuted ethnic group to introduce them to Jesus and help them through school.

Growing up is hard, especially the transition from child into adult. Nothing complicates an already tricky phase of life like instability at home, trouble at school and illness.

The Music of a Different Future

World Challenge Staff

God introduced himself into one young girl’s life, and now as she becomes a young adult, she’s seeing how the road he’s set her on is a unique blessing.

Juli grew up in Iba village, near Albania’s capital Tirana. She was introduced to church and a children’s club run by World Challenge’s partner as a little girl. A very shy and reserved child, she still came every week with a friend. 

On the Wings of Petition

Rachel Chimits

World Challenge’s partners are reaching out to the children of the Roma community to help them grow towards their heavenly Father.

Ema’s father died when she was three years old. For any child, this would be a devastating loss, but it was especially so for Ema and her family as Roma who depended heavily on her father’s presence to protect them and his income to support them.

Faithfulness and Steadfastness in Missions

Anna Kozlyuk

World Challenge’s partner in Bosnia has steadily working with the Roma community to help them hear the full gospel of salvation, hope and healing.

Most people think of Europe and assume that everyone there enjoys the same extraordinarily high standard of living. For an entire people group, this is often not the case. Living as a Roma anywhere in Europe is a daily challenge.

Binding Up the Brokenhearted

Natasha Likollari

A church in Albania is working to bring God’s light and new life to the Roma community, and they share how he is transforming one lady’s relationships with her family.

When you step into a Roma community, everyone around you has a story of incredible hardship that they have survived.

From Fear to Freedom

Rachel Chimits

In Bosnia, one Roma boy who knew little else except anxiety and rejection began to experience God's love and freedom.

Thousands upon thousands of Roma people live in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but they are the invisible population.

The government estimates that anywhere between 10,000 and 60,000 Roma are unregistered, which makes accessing schools, hospitals and public resources where they might otherwise receive the help they need far more difficult.

From Desperate to Daring Blessing

Natasha Likollari

One Roma lady and her family in Albania went from crippled by poverty to helping their neighbors survive the economic downturn.

Daily living for a Roma woman is a seemingly endless gauntlet of obstacles and challenges. One dear Roma lady who is involved in our team is Hena. Her name means “the moon,” but her life has not been that bright.

Caught Inside but Not Isolated

Natasha Likollari

Internet access isn’t always a given, even in Europe, so partners in Albania are working to make sure that everyone has the correct information but also stays encouraged.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Albania, the government has taken very strict measures to contain the disease and protect people. This situation caught us all unprepared; but for Roma communities, more than anyone, this lockdown is like the end of the world.