Lumina was set up in Beltsi in 1999 and the team is currently made up of six Christians who are passionate about improving the lives of the people of their country, reaching out with the Gospel of hope and practical assistance.

They run a number of community-focused operations in response to the growing needs around them.

The feeding programme for the poor and elderly in desperate circumstances is one such operation. Hot meals are freshly cooked in the kitchen and served at the tables. Food and other supplies are also packed for each guest to go home with. There is Bible teaching and socialising afterwards for those who wish to stay on.

Over the years, the team has seen more and more people turn to Jesus and has made tremendous effort to connect them to local church networks that can provide additional moral and practical support.

As may still be observed in some ex-Soviet countries, the disabled still tend to be the forgotten and abandoned of society, with no voice to represent them. Lumina has a day centre that caters for disabled children, schooling them in their younger years, then phasing them into a less formal setting that ensures they continue to have daily social interaction and to receive motor and intellectual development training and care - well into adulthood.

Sadly, like many cities around the world, drug and alcohol abuse is ravaging lives in Beltsi. Lumina reaches out to addicts, and team members open up their homes to those who express a strong willingness to be free of addiction. In fact, Vitaly, now one of the team members, is one of the success stories. He is an ex drug user and ex criminal who received immense support from Lumina and later decided to stay on and volunteer with the charity.

Lumina is very much committed to visiting the young and old in prison, many of whom are serving life sentences. Regular prison visits are always a great opportunity for the team to interact with the prisoners and to take them basic toiletries like soap, toothpaste, toilet rolls, food and other essential items.

The prisoners are not the only ones to benefit from receiving much-needed supplies. The charity does bulk weekly shopping that they then drive round the homes of struggling families. These bags of groceries are often the only provisions many of the families depend on.

The Lumina team especially enjoys organising their annual Summer Kids’ Camp and Christmas events - a tremendous blessing and joy for children and parents alike. With healthy meals, music and drama presentations, Bible teachings and fun crafts activities, these are occasions to demonstrate the love of Jesus to destitute communities.

You can read Lumina’s updates on their work on our Blogs page.

LUMINA’S MAIN PROJECTS :
* Groceries for families in need
* Feeding programme for the elderly
* Running a day centre for the disabled
* Home repairs for poor families
* Supplies for prisoners
* Annual children’s summer camp
* Rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts
* Provision of medicine and hospital care for the sick

If you wish to assist financially with any of the above-mentioned projects, Lumina welcomes any contribution. Please go to the Get Involved page.

We also invite you to visit our Photo Gallery to get a better idea of the impact the Lumina charity is making in Moldova.

VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMME :
Lumina has a volunteering programme during which volunteers will be asked to get involved in some of the ongoing projects, depending on their skills and abilities. Food and accommodation will be provided for the duration of the visit.

Before arriving for the programme, volunteers are kindly advised to make the necessary arrangements to ensure travel documents, return flights and day-to-day expenses for the duration of their visit are covered.

If you are interested in volunteering with Lumina, please see their contact details on our Get Involved page.