CONTEXT
At first thought it may seem odd to open a climbing gym to help the kids, but it is actually proving to be a rather creative solution to many of the largest problems faced by these romanian children. In the social and historical context that Fara Limite operates, opening a climbing gym makes perfect sense. Here is why:
Most living Romanians, especially the older generations, have experienced the turbulent history of their country. Following World War II, Romania was ushered into a communist era along with the rest of the countries that comprised the Soviet Bloc. Romania in particular bore the brunt of one of the cruelest governments of the bloc. The most recent communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, ruled 24 years from 1965 to 1989. His legacy includes maintaining one of the largest and most brutal secret police forces in the world, conducting nation-wide purges of political dissidents, and exporting alomst all of the countries resources, which resulted in massive shortages of basic necessities for the people of Romania.
For most, it was a fight for survival under communist rule. Strict food rationing, heating and electricity blackouts, and the constant fear of being turned in to the secret police became the normal state of living. It was estimated that 1 in 43 Romanians were informers for the secret police making any dissent all but nearly impossible. Romania reached a level of desperation that required the bloody Romanian Revolution of 1989 to bring an end to the oppression. Within the span of a few days, Ceausescu was ousted from office and executed on charges of genocide.
Since then Romania has been putting itself back toghether, but still manys deep scars remain in the wake of their communist past. There still remains significant government corruption, a general lack of trust in people, and a general disbelief that hard work, courage, investment, and perseverance can bring future benefit. This is why we are committed to building trust, perseverance, character, and courage through rock climbing, a sport which inherently builds these attributes.
The Jiu Valley is a beautiful valley in the southern part of the Carpathian mountain range. Historically, it has been a heavy mining and logging region, though these industries are quickly vanishing from the region. As these industries dry up, so do the jobs and livelihoods that go with them. The cities within the valley are struggling to support basic infrastructure, provide decent eductaion, or find employment for many people in the valley.
The community closest to the gym is a neighborhood called Dallas in the city of Vulcan. This is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the valley and also contains a very high concentration of the heavily discriminated Roma people. For the children who live there, this eroding economy means many things. It means that many of their parents move to other countries to find better work (leaving the children to stay in Dallas, sometimes without any supervision), It means that their education is low quality, if anyone even cares that they get an education in the first place. It means that sniffing glue or begging for money or stealing is the only way to make it through the day.
This is why we are committed to providing top quality educational models, a safe space to learn and grow, and encourage faith development, so that these kids can have a decent option for once. We also want to use outdoor recreation to connect the kids to their own natural surroundings and build a tourism industry to provide new jobs and in the region.
Romania has the highest concentration of Roma (commonly known as Gypsy) people of any country in the world. They are a people group that originated in Northern India an began migrating to Europe around the 12th century. Since their beginning, they have always been a group that has recieved heavy discrimiation. They were usually sold as slaves or isoated to specific towns during mideval times. In modern history, they were targeted by Nazis in the same way that Jews were and they have been victims of mass sterilizations in many countries. Today, most do not have access to jobs, decent housing, or quality education because of this mass discrimination. This is why we are committed to building trust and reconciliation among the people groups of Romania, to bring an end to discrimination and build up social capital among people groups.