Families in the Romanian village of Țuțora are living in new houses with running water, electricity and sewer connections — luxuries they didn’t have before.
Young adults and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked with nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity to help build houses for families in need in the village.
Over the course of two days in September 2023, the volunteers — along with the families for whom the houses were intended — built trusses, plastered, painted, put up walls and did many other tasks.
Roberto Pătrășcoiu, director of Habitat for Humanity in Romania, expressed his deep gratitude for the Latter-day Saint volunteers in a Romanian Church Newsroom release dated Jan. 19.
“Your help goes beyond just building four walls and a roof. It’s a new home for two families,” he said.
Building houses in Romania is one of many ways Latter-day Saints across Europe have offered service to their communities in the last few months. The Church has also recently made several donations to organizations in Europe.
Below are a few examples of how the Church and its members are helping those in need in Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Portugal.
A mobile clinic in Italy
In Rome, Italy, in December 2023, the Church donated a mobile clinic to Medu, a humanitarian organization providing medical, psychological and social assistance to vulnerable populations. Medu’s interventions also support refugees who arrive in Italy. The Church has collaborated with Medu on various projects since 2015.
Visiting children at an orphanage in Kazakhstan
The Zhanuya Orphanage in Almaty, Kazakhstan — which cares for about 80 orphans and 500 children with special needs — received a visit from Latter-day Saint volunteers in October 2023. The volunteers spent time with the children and handed out bracelets they had made.
Donation for health care center in Belarus
In the Novogrudok District of the Grodno Region in Belarus, the Church collaborated with the SOFIA Municipal Public Health Organization to support a donation of medical beds to a state social service institution for those who are elderly or disabled.
The medical beds — complete with mattresses, side walls, stands and suspensions — will help the institution better care for its nearly 300 patients.
Humanitarian projects in Portugal
A group of Latter-day Saint youth, along with their families and Church leaders, assembled 200 food baskets for families facing poverty in the Setúbal area of Portugal in December 2023. The baskets were made in collaboration with the Jubileu Association with items donated from the Church, including milk, rice, cereal, flour, oil, vegetables and sugar.
In Odivelas, Portugal, Latter-day Saints worked with the Odivelas City Council to organize a Christmas lunch for the local homeless community. Youth and missionaries organized games and activities for the event, and hygiene kits made by Church members were distributed to those in need.
