Prison Fellowship Romania

History

Prison Fellowship was established in the USA in 1976 as a non-profit organization based on volunteering, and was founded by Charles W. Colson following his release from prison after serving a sentence for a "Watergate" related crime during the Nixon administration.

Prior to his imprisonment, Mr. Colson had served as chief counsel for President Richard Nixon.

Just three years after Prison Fellowship is founded in the United States and with similar organizations emerging in England, Australia, Canada, and Costa Rica, the national PF organizations associate forming PFI, a global volunteer-based movement working for the spiritual, moral, social, and physical well being of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, crime victims, and criminal justice officials.

Meanwhile PF is recognized as the most extensive criminal justice ministry in the world, active in every continent and with 100,000 volunteers working through a network of 105 national Prison Fellowship (PF) organizations.

In 1992, Mr. Constantin Asavoaie meets Charles W. Colson and together they decide to open an affiliated PF in Romania. In the same year Mr. Constantin Asavoaie establishes PFR, embracing the vocation of PFI, and begins by constructing a chapel in each prison in the country: since then Prison Fellowship Romania has helped in the construction of 35 chapels and churches around all the country, both inside and outside prisons.

Also, in less than ten years since its foundation, PFR has become the second PFI organization in dimension and importance (considering the organization in USA) with a total of almost 5000 volunteers who are working in all 37 of Romania's prisons.

Besides working in prisons, Prison Fellowship Romania is assisting more than 400 people in 6 centers:

• Christian Center for Children Exposed to Crime
• The Christian Centers for Children Who Live on the Street
• Christian Center for Homeless People
• Christian Center for Mothers and Babies
• Day-Center for children's social integration
• Ruchama-Night Shelter for Homeless people

The research activity developed inside these centers and coordinated by a team of social workers, jurists, psychologists, and educators is realized in numerous projects with the goal of improving the services that are designed for PFR's clients.

Prison Fellowship Romania is managed by the president, Constantin Asavoaie, a member of the National Forum of the Romanian Orthodox Church, an executive director, Cristian Tripon, and a Board among which is Bishop Vasile Somesanu.