Missionaries Reach Out to Roma People in Hungary "Discrimination begins when groups of people do not know each other and make false assumptions and stereotypes about the character of the other group," say Dick and Carolyn Otterness, RCA missionaries who work with the Roma (gypsy) people in Hungary. The Roma are among the poorest people in the world. They are usually isolated, mostly illiterate, and almost universally unemployed. The Otternesses help facilitate the Roma-Gadje (non-Roma) Dialogue through Service program, which pairs a Roma person and a non-Roma person for a year of volunteering. "Through this dialogue and the service projects of Roma and Gadje volunteers, people will learn about each other and trust can grow," say the Otternesses. "Where trust and understanding prevail, then discrimination can be diminished, and dreams can start being turned into realities." The Roma-Gadje Dialogue through Service program is open to young adults (people in their twenties) in the RCA. To learn more, contact Mary Hondorp at mhondorp@rca.org or (800) 968-3943. In 2006-2007, the program placed 44 Roma and non-Roma young adults in volunteer posts throughout Europe. Throughout the year, the volunteer pairs worked together and learned about each other's culture. Cooperation between Roma and non-Roma is also taking place around the Opre Roma ("Rise Up, Roma") community in eastern Hungary. Roma residents in the area were to be evicted from their homes, but they have found unlikely support from local citizens and church members. The Christian community in Hungary has identified 2008 as the "Year of the Bible." The Otternesses are working with volunteers to get Bibles into the hands of as many Roma as possible. The Bibles will be used as an educational tool to teach or improve reading skills, as well as share the good news of Christ's love. Click here to donate. "A group of citizens in Debrecen, including members of the Reformed Church in Hungary, along with this group of Roma, are working together to develop a plan to buy land of their own and to build houses (we hope through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity), not just for the Roma but also for others who need a home," the Otternesses wrote in an April letter to supporters. "A group of us in Budapest who attend St. Columba's Church have been meeting to discuss fundraising possibilities and to lend our support to the Opre Roma group. "We hope that this network of church people and others--Roma and non-Roma alike--actively working toward collective cooperation and for the betterment of a disenfranchised group will succeed. We also hope it may become a model and example for other groups who face similar problems." Posted 09/18/07
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