Nestled in the rolling countryside of beautiful but rugged rural Romania is ITMI's Casa Dorca Children's Home.
Casa Dorca is more than an orphanage. Casa Dorca is a family.
At Casa Dorca, the older children don't bully the younger ones, they watch out for them.
At Casa Dorca, the children are raised with grace, not fear.
At Casa Dorca, the older children don't bully the younger ones. They watch out for them.
How has Casa Dorca been able to be so different from other children's homes in the area? One way they've built a family environment is by giving the children shared experiences.
Why does this matter?
A group of children and some caretakers don't become a family by accident. The family environment has to be built, cultivated and maintained.
Not only do the caretakers care about the children, they do their best to model life at Casa Dorca after life in a family. Most families are bound by shared experiences. The Casa Dorca family is no different.
Casa Dorca children with some of the people who care for them.
They took the children on not one, but two trips over the summer!
This might not sound like such a big deal to an American, but this is an unheard of privilege for an orphan in rural Romania.
The children, including the 5 newest, got to go to the mountains and to Baile Herculane for 2 days. In Baile Herculane, the Casa Dorca children enjoyed the Word of God with a group of Romanian brothers and sisters from America.
The kids enjoyed the opportunity to swim in a pool, too.
"It's summer vacation and we want to make the most out of these few months," says Ionel, the Casa Dorca Director.
While these words ring familiar for most American parents, they are abnormal coming from someone running a Romanian children's home.
They show just how special a place Casa Dorca really is. They illuminate just how beautifully different Casa Dorca is.
