“I think we have enough firewood for two weeks,” read the text from Ionel Lovescu, the Director of ITMI’s Casa Dorca Children’s Home in rural Romania.
Knowing that Casa Dorca operates a heating system that requires wood to burn to keep the home warm during the winter, our office reached out to check on the status of their firewood in early February.
The wood burning system requires about $15,000 USD to purchase the needed wood to get through the year, with most of that used during the winter. The wood is typically purchased or donated the summer before so that it can dry out.
If burned while still green, before “drying out” more wood is required for the same heat output. It is much more cost effective to purchase the wood during the summer and allow it to dry out before it is needed in the wintertime.
In this region, a wood-burning system is decidedly more cost-effective than coal or electric. Ionel would like to convert to solar, but the initial cost is prohibitive.
For years, a Christian local firewood supplier donated all the cubic feet of wood Casa Dorca needed to keep the orphans who live there warm and healthy. But beginning with the year of the Covid pandemic, his business began to struggle.
In turn, his ability to provide firewood for Casa Dorca has also been a struggle.
In the summer of 2021, ITMI supporters stepped in and provided a large portion of the cost of the firewood. Their involvement was vital. The following winter brought record-breaking snowfalls, but the orphaned children had heat in their home!
The Spirit must have been prompting that query in early February this year.
As it turned out, the Romanian donor was unable to provide. Thankfully, your ongoing support of ITMI’s ministries allowed us to wire them $2000 immediately, allowing Ionel to purchase firewood right away.
It would be a much more cost-effective use of resources if Casa Dorca could raise the $15,000 needed to purchase enough firewood for the winter of 2023-2024 by this summer. This will mean they won’t have to burn as much wood next winter as they would if they have to burn wood that hasn’t had time to dry out.
Casa Dorca children on the front steps of the home several years ago.
