FAMILIES
THAT
THRIVE

The Family Centre was founded in 2001 to prevent babies and children from being placed into state orphanages.

The Family Centre Romania is com­mit­ted to cre­at­ing a safe and nur­tur­ing envi­ron­ment where fam­i­lies can flour­ish and chil­dren can grow. Its pro­grams and ser­vices provide tools and resources for fam­i­lies to over­come chal­lenges and build strong rela­tion­ships. By empow­er­ing fam­i­lies to thrive, the organ­i­sa­tion pro­motes the well-being of the community.
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More about TFC

In 1999, Margie Vincent embarked on her first trip to Romania with the purpose of facil­i­tat­ing train­ing in foster care and social work. During her initial visit, she also ded­i­cated her time as a vol­un­teer in an orphan­age located in Craiova. The fol­low­ing year, Margie decided to relo­cate to Ramnicu Valcea, where she resided for an addi­tional six years. It was in 2001 when she posed a heart­felt prayer, seeking guid­ance on how to prevent the aban­don­ment of babies to orphan­ages. As a result of her prayer, The Family Centre was established.

The Family Centre is an orga­ni­za­tion focused on Chris­t­ian values, aiming to foster thriv­ing fam­i­lies. Through various free ser­vices such as social work, day care, support groups for mothers, par­ent­ing courses, cooking classes, and assis­tance with food, our ded­i­cated team works col­lab­o­ra­tively. We are driven by a shared com­mit­ment to embody­ing God’s love and ensur­ing that fam­i­lies not only survive but also flour­ish. Together, we go the extra mile to create a nur­tur­ing envi­ron­ment where love, support, and growth take center stage. Our mission is to empower fam­i­lies, helping them over­come chal­lenges, cel­e­brate achieve­ments, and lay a solid foun­da­tion for a brighter future.

Annual Report

Down­load our Annual Report 2023 pdf now for a concise overview of the work of The Family Centre.
Down­load Annual Report

“

There is an expres­sion, “It takes a village to raise a child”. We meet many fam­i­lies who do not have their own village and so for many fam­i­lies, TFC becomes their village”
—
Camelia

(TFC Manager)

“

TFC is not just pro­grams and ser­vices. TFC is a place where love and nurture is mod­elled, I have not been in an envi­ron­ment like this before. You are dif­fer­ent.  It is a place I would like to work
—
Social work colleague

“

I had been so angry for such a long time… but I have learnt how to be kind and now I want to help others
—
Denisa

(Name changed for privacy)

“

You have become like my family, you have helped me like a parent does.
–
Cristina

(Name changed for privacy)

“

TFC is a won­der­ful place. My child is loved and valued here. This is a safe place for myself and my child”
—
Mariana

(Name changed for privacy)

Our Team

Our team is all about working together, fueled by a shared com­mit­ment to embody­ing God’s love and ensur­ing that fam­i­lies not only survive but truly thrive and flour­ish. We’re in this together, going the extra mile to create a nur­tur­ing envi­ron­ment where love, support, and growth take center stage. We empower fam­i­lies to over­come chal­lenges, cel­e­brate achieve­ments, and estab­lish a solid foun­da­tion for a brighter future.
Camelia joined TFC in 2003 and became the manager in 2006 when the founder of TFC returned to New Zealand.

Ramona is the Team Leader of the Day Care Team; she joined TFC in 2005. Also in the Day Care Team is Amelia, who worked with us for 7 years and then rejoined the team again in 2022.

Mirella, the Nurse and Admin­is­tra­tion assis­tant, joined the team in 2023.

Doina, the Social Worker, joined the team in 2016

Camelia: Manager

Ramona: Team Leader of the Day Care Team

Amelia: Day Care Team

Mirella: Nurse and Administrative Assistant

Doina: Social Worker

Board Members

Margie Vincent – President
Margie first trav­elled to Romania in 1999 to facil­i­tate train­ing in foster care and social work. During her initial stay she also worked as a vol­un­teer in an orphan­age in Craiova.  Margie relo­cated to Ramnicu Valcea the fol­low­ing year where she lived for another 6 years.  In 2001 she responded to a prayer asking, “what can I do God?” to prevent the aban­don­ment of babies to orphan­ages – her prayer resulted in the estab­lish­ing of The Family Centre.

Petre Negru – Vice President
Petre is a retired engi­neer who is actively involved in his local church.  Petre joined in the found­ing of TFC and has con­tin­ued to be an active Member bring­ing his wisdom and sta­bil­ity to the Board.  We rejoice often about the journey of TFC and the wonder of us been here for over 22 years now.

Rafaela Rad­ulescu – Board Member
Rafaela was the first person employed by TFC.  Her role was in the Day Care however she was often a trans­la­tor for Margie in the early years until 2005.  Several years later Rafaela brought her hands on expe­ri­ence as a Board Member.

 

Florin Pasat – Board Member
In 2020 Florin became a Board Member. He brings a back­ground in busi­ness and men­tor­ing and some much needed IT skills.

Cristi & Irina Ciu­culescu  –  Board Members
Cristi and Irina pastor The Good Shep­herd Church in Ramnicu Valcea.  They bring their many years of  expe­ri­ence in church and com­mu­nity work to the Board and a won­der­ful vibrancy for  the Chris­t­ian life.

Mihaela Hoidrag – Board Member
Mihaela is from the teach­ing pro­fes­sion who has a sincere sense of Gods call to be involved in her com­mu­nity.  One of the newer Board Members, joining in 2022, already Mihaela is con­nect­ing us with others in praying for TFC.

Margie Vincent

Petre Negru

Rafaela Radulescu

Florin Pasat

Cristi Ciuculescu

Irina Ciuculescu

Mihaela Hoidrag

Our areas of work

To help fam­i­lies thrive, TFC has created an awesome and one-of-a-kind place where every­one is wel­comed with open arms. We totally get that each kid, parent, and visitor who comes to our center is special and super important.

We value and appre­ci­ate every­one, just like how God values each of us. Our com­mu­nity is all about love and support, making sure fam­i­lies can grow and be healthy. We’re here to create a safe and wel­com­ing space where every­one feels included and can find joy and fulfillment.

 Our free ser­vices include:

Become part of TFC by joining our newslet­ter or making a dona­tion. By doing so, you’ll be embraced as an inte­gral member receiv­ing regular updates. We warmly invite you to be a part of our work with some of the most vul­ner­a­ble fam­i­lies in Romania.
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Social Work

Day Care 

Mums Support Group

Parenting Courses

Cooking Classes

Assistance with Food

Help Families
Thrive Together!

Address

148 Stout Street, Mangapapa, Gisborne 4010

Email

[email protected]

Phone

021 555 169

Numbers 6

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children.