Recently our group went on an excursion to Lupeni, a small town in the Jiu Valley of Romania. The purpose of our visit was to meet with the folks at New Horizons Foundation and learn more about the development work they do. We were able to experience New Horizons’ programs firsthand; spend time with their staff and their founders, Dana and Brandi Bates; and get out in nature and bond together as a group. I came back to Budapest feeling rested, encouraged, and so very inspired. 

Two weekends ago I visited the city of Cluj-Napoca, a university town in Romania’s historic Transylvania region. The purpose for visiting Cluj was to meet with World Vision, learn a bit about their community development work in the area, and meet Emma, who my family sponsors through World Vision. Last year I wrote a research paper examining some of the development challenges Romania faces today and their potential underlying causes. I found the case of Romania, and particularly its history of communism, to be absolutely fascinating, so being able to visit the country for the first time was really exciting.