Gypsys

One of the things we always try to do is go visit some Gypsy families, take them food and pray for them. Their plight has captured our hearts.

The Gypsys (Roma people, officially) of Eastern Europe are one of the most wretched people groups on earth, not so much because their plight is unique, but more because it is virtually unknown. Nearly all of them have been run out of Western Europe. So, most live in squalor in the east. In the cities, they live in ghettos, separated from the ethnic Bulgarians. In the country, they live in abandoned villages that they have taken over. They often have no sewer, no running water, no schools for the children, no jobs and no hope. Because they are shunned by the people and ignored by the government, their opportunities to raise themselves out of their condition are very limited indeed. They need help!

The village we visited this time was near Stara Zagora. It was one of the better ones we have seen.