“Every child should be able to grow up in a loving family and be taught skills to prepare them for adulthood.”
Today in Ukraine, it is estimated that 106,000 children live in orphanages. About 90,000 of them will be totally unprepared for adult life. Their future is likely to include criminal activity, homelessness, prostitution, and suicide. Additionally, 1,500,000 children live in families who are in crisis and have limited resources and opportunities.
At “Family for Every Child” we help orphans find loving homes to grow up in. We teach parents how to raise adopted kids in a way that respects their trauma history and we support families in crisis so that they can overcome difficult life circumstances. More specifically we:
- Consult on adoption (legislation, procedures, exposing myths and correcting false beliefs).
- Provide help with the process of adoption (including financial support and educational information).
- Organize training sessions on parenting children who have suffered psychological trauma, neglect, and violence. Training is offered by specialists who are also raising their own adopted children.
- Help existing adoptive families in a variety of ways (medical treatment, living conditions, relief aid, and summer camps).
- Help families in crisis with physical, emotional, and social support.
This summer we organized a camp for adoptive families. The camp was an opportunity for parents to rest from the stress of daily life, to be inspired and refreshed, and to deepen their understanding of the psychological and physiological needs of their traumatized children. You can read the report and see the photos.
We are planning a network of day centers for children from families in crisis. These centers will provide for their basic needs like taking a shower, washing their clothes and eating nutritious food. In time, we hope to teach financial literacy, entrepreneurship, English and more.
Longer-term we would like to open a rehabilitation center for traumatized children. In the center, there will be specialized equipment for sensory development. Through training and special exercises children can develop their nervous system and the capacity to self-regulate. These techniques and exercises help children compensate for the lack of sensory stimulation they experienced in early childhood.
Last but not least, we would like to develop a tailored rehabilitation program for families in crisis. The tailored program includes educational information and a dedicated trained mentor who will serve as a role model for the family and help lead the family out of their crisis.
How you can participate
There are various ways you can partner with this movement of improving the lives of orphans and families at risk. You can:
- Adopt a child.
- Become a mentor for one child in an orphanage (become his/her friend, advise them, give presents, take them for holidays etc).
- Become a mentor for a family in crisis.
- Help adoptive families materially (we know specific families and their needs).
- Financially support the NGO “Family for Every Child”.
- Help as a specialist (translation, bookkeeping, design, mentoring, etc).
- Pray for orphans, adoptive families, families in crisis and the NGO.
- Become an advocate (create and help spread information about the problems orphans face and the ways we can work together to solve them).
- Tell us if you are willing to become involved in any specific way not listed above.
Join!
https://www.facebook.com/family.te.ua/
Presentation
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xD9UdcYU-pMzx93JZruuqDsF7PYx203OfqmbNh34IOI
Apply for participation
https://forms.gle/ZhYfuzWLSoMyv42T8
