Looking back on 25 Years of The Family Centre in Romania
It started, by Margie Vincent's own account, as nothing more than a prayer as she was planning an overseas trip. "Wouldn't it be a good idea if I did some volunteer work somewhere on the way home?" she remembers asking God. She didn't mind where. She just asked to be shown something.
That small, simple prayer led to a conversation with her boss at Open Home Foundation , a training request from an organisation in Romania, and a decision made almost by accident: Margie was heading to Italy and on a world map Italy and Romania looked close in proximity. So, what began as a one month training trip in 1999 turned into three months, then a calling that has now shaped 25 years of ministry.
What She Already Carried
Before Romania was ever on Margie's radar, she had spent years building a set of experiences she didn't yet know she would need. Church work, camp work, community work, social work, and time working in foster care through Open Home Foundation, New Zealand's Christian child and family support service, none of it was aimed at Romania. It was simply the shape of her working life up to that point.
Looking back, Margie describes it as one of those moments where God uses what is already in our hands. She hadn't set out to work in orphanages, or start a social service from scratch. But when the door opened, unplanned and almost by accident, she already carried a working knowledge of trauma, family support and Christian ministry that she could put to use straight away.
That pattern has held for 25 years. Margie kept offering what she already had: an eye for what a struggling family needs, a willingness to sit with hard stories, and the kind of patient obedience that keeps showing up for people others have given up on. As Margie puts it herself, when the moment came, all she could do was put up her hand and say, "I will go. Send me."
A Country still carrying its wounds
Margie arrived in Romania a decade after the fall of Ceaușescu's regime, at a time when orphanages across the country were still very full. Her first visit to one left her, in her words, wanting to run. Rooms of cots held two or three children at a time, many without mattresses. Clothing doubled as nappies. Some children were distressed, others had shut down completely.
She stayed anyway. By the end of that first day, she had fallen in love with the children in her care, and she sensed there was a bigger plan unfolding. Walking home one afternoon, she heard God ask her plainly: would she come back? Not a command, she says, but a Father asking His daughter. Her answer was yes.
The Moment that changed everything
Margie returned the following year and began supporting other volunteers from New Zealand. Her days were spent feeding and holding children who rarely left their cots. Then, one afternoon from an upstairs window, she watched a van pull up outside. A man climbed out, opened the back doors, and lifted out what looked like a bread tray. It held toddlers, wrapped up and being transferred from the orphanage where newborns went after being given up at birth.
She only saw it happen once, and she is grateful for that. But in that moment, a vision was born: a place where families who did not want to give up their children, but simply needed help, could come and be supported. Not to replace parents, but to equip them to thrive.
What The Family Centre actually does
The Family Centre runs Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5pm as an accredited Christian social service, its work includes:
Social work and advocacy, helping families navigate housing, government systems, and practical needs
Free daycare for up to 13 children at a time, up to age six, tailored to what each family needs rather than a fixed roster
A mum's support group, offering a safe space and practical parenting help
Cooking classes and food and medical assistance
A supported living programme, for the most intensive mentoring one-to-one
Staff training and community professional development
Short term Mission teams, hosted two or three at a time
Thankfully, Romania's orphanage numbers have dropped since Margie first arrived, from seven in her city to three, but children are still being separated from their families, now most often into paid, state run foster care. The need for a place like The Family Centre has not gone away. It has simply changed shape.
Faith woven through learning
Although The Family Centre operates under strict government regulation, faith has never been sidelined. Prayer is part of daily life at the centre, with children, with staff, and with mums.
Margie describes the prayer culture there as gentle and reflective. Many parents who come through the doors have never encountered that kind of presence before, and it moves them in ways they don't always have words for.
One recent story: a mum named Elena*, caring for four children under six in desperate housing conditions, was recently able to rent an apartment that meets every need her family has. Around the same time, she became the first mum at the centre to pray a prayer of salvation while watching the Romanian language version of Long Story Short.
Lives changed across generations
Margie speaks of Sabina*, a young mother who grew up cycling between orphanages and foster care and now, at 20, is raising her own son with almost none of the foundational knowledge most parents take for granted. After eight months of support from The Family Centre, both Sabina and her son are unrecognisable from where they started.
She also tells the story of another couple who were one of the first families to come through the centre's doors. They once asked Margie how there could be a God, given what had happened to them in the orphanage system. Six years of walking alongside that family followed. Today, their daughter is training to be a teacher, married with a child of her own, and the whole family, now including another 5 children across the generations, attended The Family Centre's 25th anniversary celebration this year.
A Team that carries the Vision
Margie lived in Romania for seven years before returning to New Zealand, and for over a decade her involvement was largely from a distance, encouraging and supporting a local team who carried the day to day work.
In the last four years, Margie has sensed God redirecting her back into a more hands on role, even while still based in New Zealand. She now travels regularly between the two countries, most recently splitting a trip into two visits this year, including one planned for October around the centre's 25th anniversary celebrations.
How to Be Part of the Story
Margie is open about the ongoing needs. The Family Centre receives funding of 2000 USD per year from the Romanian Government, and this year their main business sponsor in Romania has withdrawn, so there is currently a gap. She is also hoping to explore relationships with local businesses in Romania during her October visit, describing it as a significant step of faith.
For those wanting to be involved, whether through prayer, financial support, or a future short term visit, GC3 can help connect people with Margie and the ongoing work of The Family Centre.
*Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect the privacy of the families involved.
You can learn more about Margie and The Family Centre here
