Project support for Teen Challenge Slovenija

The Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Slovenija was one of the first projects we supported as Traveling Light.

In 2010, the house (then still a rental) opened its doors and soon there were three men in the program, ready to start a new life.

In 2011, a few months after the launch of  Traveling Light, we posted an appeal on our blog to raise funds for the purchase of a chainsaw.

And wow, a lot has happened since then. The purchase of that one chainsaw ultimately resulted in a professional company that cuts and prunes trees. A form of income for running the center.

Nowadays, between 8 and 18 men stay in the center at a time. Often for a year, sometimes longer. In 2021, plans were made to renovate and expand the existing center so that even more men with life-threatening problems could find a place there.

Applying for permits and the right papers is a long-term process. Raising the necessary funds, in addition to the daily activities, was (and still is) a challenge. About a year ago, the news came that 70% of their monthly support (coming from the USA) would be stopped.

Despite the bureaucratic and financial setbacks, the entire team of staff and volunteers sees the hand of God in their work every day. Lives are changed, marriages are restored, families are reunited, men complete the program with good results. It's always worth it!

Last June, Jan visited (by motorcycle) and was so encouraged (as always) by the testimonies of the men!

We would really like to help Teen Challenge Slovenija with a donation for the daily running of the center. We hope you will join us 💓 You can send a donation in different ways:

• Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention TC SLOVENIJA.
• 💳 Give by card
• 👉You can also donate directly via our website!
• 👉When in the USA, make your tax-deductible gift payable to EEO Inc. Make sure to mention TC SLOVENIJA.

Project farm rehab 'Centar Duga', Serbia

It has already been a year since we were able to send a donation to the food parcel project 'Ruka za Druga' (which means 'Hand for a Friend'), part of the Protestant Christian Fellowship in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Pastor Dusan Beredji (known to us as Bera) regularly sends news items about his church's homeless project and also about the drug and alcohol rehab center 'Centar Duga'.

What started 15 years ago as a small shelter to help addicts, has over the years expanded to a center with 30 beds!

Men with life-threatening problems can go there for a long-term rehabilitation program.

The rehab center is largely self-sufficient thanks to a moving van service, a chicken farm, and vegetable greenhouses. They also gladly receive donations.

Bera would like to see the farm expanded with more greenhouses and chicken coops and a pigsty.

The farm has multiple objectives:

• It enables a reduction in food costs for the beneficiaries - by improving their nutrition and through the sale of surplus products.
• It contributes to the path of self-sustainability, which is the goal, by reducing overall costs.
• It serves as a therapeutic work component for the center's beneficiaries.
• It provides beneficiaries with a sense of self-worth, as their work contributes to the center's operations.
• Beneficiaries acquire new skills that can benefit them in their future lives.

We would like to help them with a donation to expand the farm, to build new greenhouses, buy seeds and plants, etc. etc. If you also want to help....

Your donations for the work in Novi Sad are always welcome. You can send a gift in different ways, please take note:

Send a donation to St. Traveling Light, Papendrecht IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U and make sure to mention CENTAR DUGA.

💳 Give by card

👉You can also donate directly through our website!

We really like these kinds of practical projects. Jan has visited the center and has seen with his own eyes how they run the center on a daily basis, and how lives are being changed there, every day.