Teofania center offers women in a violent situation with their families: shelter, psychological counseling and social orientation, in order to help them to change their situation.
Coming from a private initiative, seeing the needs of those women Teofania Center was open in 2008 as an NGO. It is a project from Reinicoor Open Hand Foundation in partnership with Directia de Dezvoltare si Asistenta Comunitara de pe langa Cosiliul Local Arad, Episcopia Ortodoxa a Aradului si Hunedoarei and Agentia de Ocupare si Formare Profesionala Arad.
The stay at Teofania Center is a two months process from arriving disoriented to leave with future. The first steps for the women abused in their family are accepting their violent situation, leaving the situation and talk about it. They then have to build a plan for the future, like finding a place where to live and a job if they don’t have it, to be independent.
The idea is to give them earth to grow up by themselves.
After these two months process when they are leaving they have the option to keep in contact with the center and receive counseling and orientation in their new life.
It is important for us to present the following interview in order to make you to understand their feelings, their fears, their pain and their insecurity on these two months:
V. S, you are 34 years old, and you live here in Teofania Center for abused women. What made you to say STOP and leave from home?
S. I am here thanks to the beatings I received. I was beaten 2-3 times a month; but especially I was sexually abused, he wanted things I can’t accept.
V. Have you tried before to leave your home?
S. I left him last year twice.
V. And how did you get here?
S. I am here thanks to the Police; they helped me to get here.
V. For how long are you here?
S. A month and a few days.
V. What is your situation now? How many children do you have with you?
S. From now the situation is peaceful, because I have a place where to stay, I am with four of my children, I am good now.
V. From where did you get help?
S. I have received help from the Foundation Reinicoor Open Hand and I thank the leaders, and from Penticostal church.
V. Which are your main needs?
S. My special needs…everything is about financial situation. I found a rent; I need money to start; I need to find a job. I need money to give the girls that have two years and four months, and the small one that on the 22nd of February is one years old, to give them in the kindergarten. It all depends on money.
V. which is your next step to save your situation?
S. It is very hard to answer, the next step…I don’t know.
V. How do you see your near future?
S. I don’t know. I have faith, God will help me. That’s all I know.
V. And for the future what do you wish?
S. I wish I have a place where to live with my children and have peace.
V. How strong do you feel to change everything and to start a new life?
S. I feel strong but sometimes…can not continue. I am from Moldavia, there is very hard, my parents can’t help. I don’t know…
Living and working in Teofania Center is different than to hear about it. We can see every day the pain, how disoriented they are, how lost… but on the other hand you can see how thankful they are and happy that someone cares about them.
Sometimes it is hard for us to understand them because of the language, culture and different mentality, moreover sharing the house with people in that situation makes it more sensitive than sharing the house with other volunteers.
Because we haven’t been in a situation like this before, occasionally when there is a conflict, we fight with ourselves to find out the best solution, we don’t really know how to react to not hurt them and also fight for our rights at the same time.
A part from this, we feel part of a big family, with small sisters to play with and to dance and sing, cooking together, watching TV, making masks, going for a walk,…everyday is a new situation with beautiful moments where we laugh, smile and we hug each other.
Thanks for this great experience!!!!
