TTS
Sports Brings Hope to Orphans in Eastern Europe
 For
many American families, the weekend revolves around children's
organized sports. Drive through most any town in the United
States on a Saturday or Sunday morning, in the spring, and
you will see sports fields covered with parents on the sidelines
cheering their little ones on. This scene is not a familiar
one in Romania, and especially not at Romanian orphanages.
While the children do go outside to play sports, they do not
have the benefit of adult mentors, coaches or parents cheeing
them on.
Mike Fay, the President
of TTS Sports, knows the difference team sports makes in a
child's life. Every year his programs help build the confidence
of thousands of New England children. When Mike learned about
the abandoned children of Romania, he partnered with HOPE
worldwide New England to begin a TTS Sports/HOPE
worldwide program that would give these disadvantaged
children a chance to play and benefit from team sports.
The
program began in Romania in 2001 with a series of one-day
events and then continued on with seasonal soccer and basketball
leagues. An average of 80 children participate each season.
The program was so successful that in 2002, Mike Fay and HOPE
worldwide staff members started similar programs
in Warsaw, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; and Tirana, Albania.
The
TTS Sports/HOPE worldwide program is an inexpensive
yet effective way to build the confidence of abandoned children.
Through team sports they are learning how to work together,
follow rules and accomplish goals--all invaluable lessons
that will benefit them in all areas of their lives.
You
can make a contribution to the TTS Sports Eastern European
programs through the HOPE worldwide Web
site by clicking
here.
Meet
Mugur Bogdan, the Program Director for TTS Sports Eastern
Europe
 Mugur
Bogdan was born in Bucharest, Romania, during the reign of
dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. When he was a toddler, his father
escaped Romania, leaving the family behind. Mugur's mother
was branded as a traitor and evicted from her apartment. She
was homeless and jobless and had no way of providing for Mugur
and his two sisters. She made the hardest choice a mother
can make when she gave her daughters up for adoption and left
Mugur in an institution until she was better able to care
for him.
Mugur
was five when he entered the orphanage. His strongest memory
of his life there was the beatings he received. He lived there
for a year until his mother came and reclaimed him. Most of
the children in the orphanage were not so fortunate as to
be reunited with their families.
Mugur
grew up with a roof over is head and food to eat, but not
much more. Because of his mother's financial situation, Mugur
did not attend high school, but instead found work and helped
support his small family.
In
2000, Mugur came in contact with HOPE worldwide
in Romania through the Christian church he attended. He began
working at the HOPE worldwide Family Center with
a heart to help the children there because of what he had
been through.
In
2001, HOPE worldwide began "That's the Spirit"
(TTS) Sports in Eastern Europe, a program that gives boys
and girls who live in orphanages the chance to grow and develop
by playing team sports. Mugur was asked to be the director
of the program for Romania. Over time, he showed that he was
the right person for the job and was asked to take the responsibility
of helping TTS Sports begin similar programs in Poland, Hungary
and Albania.
Mugur
rose above the challenges in his life and now is helping institutionalized
children learn to do the same thing.
To
read about the programs, by country, click on the links here
or on the panel to the left.
Romania
Hungary
Albania
Poland
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