Each year, JMI celebrates the graduates of our Transitional Living (TL) program—teenagers who have faced incredible challenges yet have persevered with courage, hope, and faith. Graduation day is a joyful, inspiring occasion, filled with worship, encouragement, and a deep sense of accomplishment. These young men and women—once unsure of their future—stand ready to take their next steps, equipped with the tools and confidence to thrive.
Daniela R. is one of those graduates. Coming from a large family with limited resources, she once struggled to imagine a future beyond survival. But through the TL program, she found support, direction, and a deeper relationship with God. This year, Daniela was baptized and is now preparing to apply to medical school. As she shared:
“I became a more open person, I had the opportunity to fulfill my desires, to study at the medical college, the opportunity to volunteer… It helped me a lot in my relationship with God.”
Graduation day is a beautiful reflection of God’s redemptive work. The ceremony begins with worship and words of encouragement, celebrating not only academic progress but the transformation that has taken place in each heart. Sponsors, mentors, and staff gather alongside the students to give thanks for all that God has done and to bless them as they step forward into adulthood.
In the Transitional Living program, teens typically stay for 2 to 3 years, completing their schoolwork and training to become successful members of the workforce. The program caters to their specific needs, helping each individual grow and thrive as the unique person God created them to be.
After graduation, some teens will enter our Independent Living program, where they will share living expenses in apartments while attending university or to begin their careers, moving them further along the road to self-sufficiency and protecting them from being trafficked.
Graduation day is both a celebration and a reminder of the incredible potential in each TL teen. It’s a milestone made possible by the faithful support of sponsors, staff, and partners who walk alongside these young people and invest in their future.
JMI’s Transitional Living program is truly life-changing. We provide a safe home, accountability figures, spiritual guidance and counseling, social work services, tutoring, volunteer projects, life skills, vocational training, and the possibility of higher education–all within a family-like environment. It is the most effective and most expensive program JMI runs in Moldova. If every Transitional Living teen is fully sponsored each year, we still run a $100,000+ annual deficit for this program. Would you help us close this gap by giving a monthly, quarterly, or annual gift toward this effort?
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