Today’s Good People, Good Works will be presented in Hungarian, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Welcome, smiling viewers, to another edition of Good People, Good Works. Today we travel to the city of Déva in southern Transylvania, Romania to meet Brother Csaba, a monk of the Franciscan Catholic order and the founder of the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva.

The Foundation, with a 200-member strong staff and 1800 volunteers, is dedicated to caring for those children in Romania without homes or that cannot live with their parents for various reasons at 50 “child protection centers” throughout the country.

Most of the children who are taken in are ethnic Hungarian and thus only speak Hungarian as previously Transylvania was part of Hungary. Let us now hear from Brother Csaba, who is an ethnic Hungarian from Transylvania, on the humble beginnings of this caring charitable organization.

I was placed in Déva as a parish priest in 1992 and it was very difficult to preach on Sunday knowing that there were hungry children in front of the church. I invited them for lunch after the Mass and then I asked them to take a shower, put on this T-shirt and hurry up because the soup gets cold. And then, if you invite them into your home it’s difficult to send them away because they start feeling attached.

And later we organized a camp for children in need who lived in the street and it was amazing how well they had behaved there. They were very attentive, kind and furthermore at the end of the camp one of them added, “Why don’t we organize a one-year-long camp?” First I thought it was just a good joke.

But that night I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking these kids had no home to go to and couldn’t go to school. I believed it would be better if I took them in and they could go to school from here. And later we made it happen so this year was our 17th “camping” year here. And now we have 1800 kids in the “camp” in more than 50 places continuously.

Did the story start here in Déva? Was this beautiful big building the first one?

Yes, we started our endeavor here. In the beginning we were with the kids in the monastery, but it was too small and I remember a Dutchman arrived and as the church is next to the road he stopped to take part in the Sunday Mass, and the kids were singing. I invited him for lunch and then he set out to leave and when we came out of the house, there was a mother with three children in front of the monastery. Of course it was evident that they were in need and in trouble.

He asked me to invite them in, and I replied that there was no more place for them. Then the Dutchman asked: “How come there is no place? You can see that these people are in big trouble, and there are so many kids here (already).” I answered: “Sure, there were two (kids) in each bed.” Then he suggested that I buy a flat somewhere here. I replied there were more reasons I could name, but I would only mention one thing, not having money.

Then the Dutch gentleman went home and sent us money for two flats. So we bought them. Until today I have no idea who this man is, as he didn’t send a business card later. But the fact is that the whole thing has started. Later we bought two, three flats or one every year depending on how much money we had and slowly we were able to buy the whole block. Now our kids are in 20 flats, learning and laughing.

As news of the Foundation’s good work spread far and wide, the people of Transylvania and beyond were inspired to lend a helping hand in the effort to protect vulnerable children.

So like the root in the soil, we were slowly but nicely developing. After Déva, other properties were offered in different areas and we were spreading like this. At the moment we are present in almost 50 different places.

I always say, “God created a good world. If there is a kid somewhere who cries to be hugged then there must be a woman or a family who is crying for a kid to hug. And there must be an empty house somewhere, whose dusty silence is waiting to be filled with kids’ laughter. I think it would be great if we could try to put the pieces of this puzzle together to make God’s Kingdom visible on Earth.

It happened that a lady left her house to us at Balaton Lake (Hungary) so that the kids can go on holiday there.

If good values are instilled in youngsters, they will carry these virtuous qualities with them throughout their lives. Ms. Mihály Kinga is a kindergarten teacher who is looking after some of the residents at one of the child protection centers and thus is directly helping to shape the lives of future community leaders.

I think everyone tries to give whatever is most important to them. So, you discipline best by showing a personal example. So, for me, it is important to live my connection with God every day; it is important to teach them to be tidy and hygienic, and all the way from basic things up to their studies, so that when they go into first grade, it won’t be an issue where they came from, that they were neglected, and they require special attention, no. I am strict with them all the same, if not even more than with other children, so that when they leave here, they can find their way in life.

When we return, we will learn more about the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Children who are here at Déva are from a disadvantaged background; children who didn’t get love from their families or financial support, but here they can change completely. I have also changed; I not only grew older but I feel I also get more (than before), we get a real home and a family; we are one big family.

Welcome back to Good People, Good Works on Supreme Master Television. The Saint Francis Foundation of Déva, based in Déva, Romania provides children without homes or who cannot live with their parents for various reasons a place to live that features foster parents who care very much about them and a loving family environment.

So this is the biggest building here in Déva; how many flats and how many kids and foster-parents are here?

About 230 kids, with 8 to 10 kids in one flat plus one foster-parent or adult. It means we have about 22 “social families.” Every family has one independent full-time staff member. Every family is independent. Besides this, there is a handyman, and we have two office workers as well.

There are single foster-parents and there are married couples, who raise their kids along with the other 10 kids. So there are no mixed families; a family is made up of either girls or boys.

My name is Róbert and I like it here because there are kids to play with.

How many kids are there in your family?

Nine.

That’s very cool. Do you like to be in the family? (Yes.) Do you have one foster-parent, or two? (Two.) What do you like the best here?

I can play games, play football, we go on excursions to the banks of the Maros River and I like to play basketball. Basketball? (yes.)

(My name is) Vitális Denisz Gábriel. I’m 12 and I am from Szászváros (Romania).

What do you like the best here?

That we have friends here; I can play; I have a place to learn.

We trust each other and we believe, because if we don’t believe in God and each other, we couldn’t exist, and this is what keeps us together, this is a bond, which the whole world needs. And the people who need it most are those who have lost their faith, and these children, the children of Déva, can give faith to people with their everyday love, a smile, a hug.

God’s love is indeed everlasting and touches all beings. Brother Csaba also now speaks about how we can all share this love with one another.

I know that God didn’t only create us, but he also lives in us, he speaks to us.

I believe that my only duty is to show how good it is to do good deeds, how good it is to live in love, and I have to show that these kind of children can also be educated. God did not create the wealthy man’s children from this and the underprivileged man’s children from a different bucket. My goal is to convince people about how good it is to reach out to the fallen one.

In the block, in the street where he lives, he should dare to practice clemency. Let us dare to be open towards other people! Let us not live in our little, closed, separate worlds, but just like people adopt a puppy, or a kitten, why shouldn’t we dare to invite the kids in need next door for lunch? After my ordainment my motto was that, “God wants humanity to become a big family and wants us to be brothers and sisters of each other.”

Of course, what counts as a big thing, and what counts as a small thing... whatever is done with love is a big thing. And I think this is what humanity needs.

We deeply thank Brother Csaba for establishing the child protection centers which provide loving, nurturing care to so many vulnerable young ones in Romania. May the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva continue to successfully shelter homeless children in the years to come and beyond.

For more details on the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva, please visit: www.Devaigyerekek.hu

Thank you for company today on our program. Please join us next Sunday on Good People, Good Works for part two of this two-part series on Brother Csaba and the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva. Next is The World Around Us, after Noteworthy News. May the spirit of love blossom within you.

Today’s Good People, Good Works will be presented in Hungarian, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Never give up; you should always go on if something doesn’t succeed. Never give up.

Welcome, gracious viewers, to another edition of Good People, Good Works. Today on the second part of a two part series we travel once again to the city of Déva in southern Transylvania, Romania to visit with Brother Csaba, a monk of the Franciscan Catholic order and the founder of the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva.

The Foundation, with a 200-member strong staff and 1800 volunteers, is dedicated to caring for those children in Romania without homes or that cannot live with their parents for various reasons at 50 “child protection centers” throughout the country. Most of the children who are taken in are ethnic Hungarian and thus only speak Hungarian as previously Transylvania was part of Hungary. Brother Csaba, himself, is an ethnic Hungarian from Transylvania.

Currently there are 1,800 children looked after by the Foundation. The child protection centers feature what are called “social families” that are comprised of one or two foster parents and eight to 10 children living together in a large apartment owned by the Foundation. Each social family is independent.

I think I believe in what we started here, not because it was our idea, but because it is a good system. As it is not a state institution, it is much easier to involve citizens as well, the worshippers and others, and it’s easier to maintain financially and somehow more realistic. And it is so nice the worshippers arrive to the church in the morning, bring bread, put it in front of the altar of Saint Anthony and we eat it at noon. In other words, the connection is so real.

Recently one house was in need of firewood, and I told them to go out to the riverbank to pick up the garbage and after finishing to go to the mayor and sing for him, and the mayor sent them some firewood indeed. And by doing so kids learn that they should participate in earning their living. Externally it may seem to be a bit ad hoc, but my experience in 17 years is that this system works well and it is living and healthy.

Kids are calm and silent. In these 17 years I didn’t have any police involvement. I have never been to the police-station; the kids haven’t committed anything against the law. “If you behave badly, we will take you away from your parents and put you in an institute.” Our system is not like that. Rather the parents and kids themselves apply in writing for us to take the child in.

And if he or she cannot behave, then I say: “Sorry about that, but if I cannot cultivate you with nice words, and I won’t do that with force, I will take you home.” And that kid becomes more silent and manageable.

My father and I used to go to the church and there was a priest who used to come here to hold the Mass. And he said that there is a foundation and the priest visited us and he asked if I wanted to come here and I said, "yes." It is easier here because here we have a place to sleep, there is hot water, there is a bed, you can go to school and become intelligent. We study German, Hungarian, English, Latin, and how to say "hallo” nicely, how to have good manners, and how to eat nicely.

Besides offering shelter, Brother Csaba has always strived to provide the youngsters under his care with an excellent education so that they are prepared to succeed in life. The first batch of children that he rescued from the streets in 1992 became academic all-stars. Following completion of their studies, 14 out of the 15 students were accepted to university.

Recognizing that higher education is not something that all children may wish to pursue, today vocational training is also offered and youngsters can learn furniture making skills. By learning this trade, they can find gainful employment after leaving the Foundation’s care.

Most kids – thanks to God – take their school exit exams and over half of them can get into universities or colleges. So for example, we have two houses in Cluj (Romania) for those kids who have already passed their school exit exams and would like to study at universities. If someone is honest, punctual, neat, well-disciplined, then he is a useful citizen of this planet.

These children leave here at the age of 18 to 20 and I would like them to earn their living righteously, and to have that standard of life like what we can provide them here in the name of God. Otherwise they become frustrated when they go out from here and they feel bad about just working, working and cannot get ahead in their lives. I expect them to be happy, cheerful and full of vitality and strive to earn their living and so they become like that.

After these messages, we will learn more about the lives of the children cared for by the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

In this world, only God’s mercy is endless, everything else has an end. And whatever has an end, we can finish it. So, all those troubles and problems that weigh down our soul and probably extinguish the optimism and constructive thinking in many, these have an end. These (problems), if we join together, we can end them.

Welcome back to Good People, Good Works on Supreme Master Television. The Saint Francis Foundation of Déva, based in Déva, Romania provides children without homes or who cannot live with their parents for various reasons a place to live that features foster parents who care very much about them and a loving family environment. Pente Andrea is a foster parent for the Foundation and genuinely cares about the welfare of the children she looks after.

I’ve been working here at the Foundation for three years, at this child protection center in Déva, and I’ve been trying to guide 10 boys for these past three years. At first I arrived as a volunteer, then later on as I got acquainted with the work of the Foundation , then I desired to work here.

Volunteer means that you get to know the work of the Foundation more; you help several foster-parents and accomplish various tasks. The foster parent is in charge of 10 boys, solely for those 10 boys, and is spending time with them 24/7.

Firstly I came here because we’ve often heard Brother Csaba saying that, “If you love, it will spring forth their goodness.” Basically, I came here to try to see whether or not this is doable. I succeeded in the first year, and I saw that the kids develop through my love for them, and through my daily work with them. So these three years turned into three years because it is very hard to depart from these kids. There is a connection. We are humans and we love and it is very hard to end this relationship.

With 10 children in the household, the family’s schedule is always hectic. What are the days like for this busy foster parent and the youngsters?

Weekdays are naturally different. When the kids go to school, study comes first. Weekends are free. We have time to get out a lot, play, that’s a whole different story. On weekdays we have breakfast together, then the kids go to school at eight o’clock and come home only in the afternoon.

We have various tasks and have time to run our personal errands in the morning. In the afternoon we study. In the evenings we have different courses for the kids, like guitar lessons, folksong lessons, and flute lessons. They can come to the library as well. The junior school students are coming here, to this monastery, right next to us. The kindergarten is here as well, and the senior students are going to a state school.

Now let us meet two of the residents of the child protection center in Déva.

My name is Kakucs Sándor, I’m 15, I am from Târgu Mureş. I like living here very much, because there’s a place where I can learn. I have been here for a long time since kindergarten.

And what do you like the best here?

Oh, a lot of things. Doing sports and learning.

What sports do you do?

Football, and sometimes basketball.

I’ve been here since I was three and I feel happy here.

Will you tell the viewers how old you are?

I’m 16.

What would you like to do ? Have you got plans for your life and where to study next?

Yes, I would like to work as an assistant in Cluj.

And what does (working as an) assistant mean?

That means taking care of people and curing them.

Could you tell us an interesting story, as many things have happened here since you were three that you remember well?

Well, Brother Csaba came after me and brought me here. It was a great experience and I enjoy myself here and I am very grateful.

To close, here are some inspirational thoughts from Pente Andrea and Brother Csaba.

Faith is extremely important for me, and for the kids. I know of myself that without God, without faith, I could not do this. Because you spend every day with 10 kids, and the 10 kids have different problems. They are of different ages, either teenagers, or little kids and you cannot do this without having faith and love.

I’d like to ask you if you have any special message for the broad viewership of Supreme Master Television?

I rejoice that there’s a television channel like this and I ask God’s blessings to you and I ask and encourage this television channel to strengthen the brotherly togetherness among people. I jokingly have said many times that Jesus Christ in Heaven will not set different tables for different people and for different religions but we’ll have to sit at the same table. And I rejoice that there are communities that build humanity’s huge family in a conscious and loving manner. May God’s blessings be upon your work!

We sincerely thank Brother Csaba, the foster-parents, and the volunteers of the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva for touching the lives of so many vulnerable children in Transylvania and greater Romania through their love and dedication. May Heaven bless them for their selfless work and all the children with bright futures.

For more details on the Saint Francis Foundation of Déva, please visit: www.Devaigyerekek.hu

Thank you for joining us today on Good People, Good Works. Next is The World Around Us, after Noteworthy News. May your life be filled with abundant joy and inner peace.