MOMENT OF CELEBRATION!

National trainers were certified to train Case Worker Core in Ukraine!

This was an event that we were looking forward to!

ILDC in collaboration with Partnership for Every Child and IHS have trained over 30 national trainers in Ukraine. It took over two years to complete this training project. Now these trainers are certified and ready to go out and train others. This is where change begins, new generations of trained and equipped professionals will continue to carry out world’s best practice into the hands of others and they would do the same. Most of these trainers have already started to train in different regions of Ukraine and we already could see some results. Social workers, after going through the training, change their thinking about their work with children. It’s rewarding to hear from some of them when they say: “Yes, now we can see what we did wrong and now we understand why we had problems in our work and in our approaches”

On behalf of ILDC and Partnership for Every Child Team we would like to express our gratitude to Judy Rycus - Program Director of  IHS for developing this valuable training program for social workers and to Ruby Johnston, Kathy Hallick, Pam Severs and others who delivered the training, mentored national trainers and gave their best to train this group of trainers! THANK YOU, ONCE AGAIN, FOR YOUR VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION IN DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL TRAINERS! 



NIKOLAY KULEBA VISITING ILDC OFFICE!

Nikolay Kuleba is the head of Kiev Children Service. We had a great opportunity to partner with him in the past. There were a great number of trainings conducted by ILDC for Kiev Children Service in the past. Today we can see the difference and many positive changes in the work of Children Services. They were able to decrease the number of children in the orphanages and tremendously increase the number of adoptions in Kiev city. There is a great desire of Kiev Children service staff to learn and to be better in their work. This was the reason why Nikolay Kuleba has visited ILDC. He expressed his intention to organize new series of trainings for the staff and workers of Kiev children services as well as other representatives from other centers that are working in the area of social work. As Nikolay shared, it is still extremely hard to change the old system of the child welfare here in Ukraine. It is essential to train social workers in Kiev, offering them best practice and really transforming their thinking.

 

In the meeting we were able to plan new trainings for Kiev Children Serrvice in near future.

With this opportunity we see one more significant step towards greater change in child welfare of Ukraine.

DEALING WITH TRAUMA

Training "Dealing with Trauma-Part 1"

ILDC had an opportunity to collaborate with Marek Wnuk from Poland, the founder of "Sunshine Center" in Kiev region, who has conducted a training for the social workers, psychologists, foster and adoptive parents today at our office!

There was about 13 people starting to go through the series of this training, which will continue later this spring with the Part II and III of this training. The group has greatly enjoyed their experience and look forward to the next training on this topic this spring!

The participants were so grateful to learn more info and skills on working with children, who have experienced trauma in their life. There was lots active learning, practical exercises to use with the kids presented and important info to consider! The feedback was very positive as the topic is so relevant and skills are greatly needed.

Thanks Marek for training for ILDC today!

SAD REALITY BUT TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE DIFFERENCE!!!

We have a new family that we work with right now and we would like briefly to share with you about this family and their story.

A widowed father with 5 children. Fathers name is Juliy Zeleyev and his kids Snezhana 12 years, Nadia 10 years, Natasha and Ira twins 7 years and youngest Denice 5 years old. They are all nice kids and their father himself is a good men. He served in a military for a long time in Kyrgyzstan. After his retirement he had returned to Ukraine. They bought a small house in a village and moved there. After some time his wife got very sick and died. He continue to take care of 5 children and did whatever he possibly could to provide for them. Couple of months ago Children Service came to them with intention to take his children away from him and place them into the orphanage. They claimed that their house was too small and too poor for them to live there. Poor father did not know what do and after experiencing a major stress he was hospitalized to the hospital with a suspect of a heart attack. Our staff Victoria found out about this situation and immediately went to find out what we can do for them. We have negotiated with our partner "True Hope" and agreed with them to place this family temporally into the house that was just renovated for their own project with a purpose so that Social Service would not claim again that this family do not have a proper facilities to live and children must be taken away fro their father. We have got few months  to help this family and to find the way how to make their own house better and livable so the children could stay with their father.Children do not want to go to the orphanage and want to stay with their father.

PLEASE SHARE THIS STORY WITH OTHERS!!!

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD HELP US TO STAND FOR THIS FAMILY AND TO WIN THE CASE IN THE COURT!

NEW FAMILY IS READY TO ADOPT.

We have a new family in Krivoy Rig that is willing to adopt two children. Our manager of “Adopt Ukraine” project Victoria is currently working with Kuznitsovy family. This wonderful couple has expressed the desire to adopt two children from the orphanage. But there is a challenge for them and for us too.
We already shared in previous posts about hardships of adoption in Ukraine and how orphanages become a major obstacle on the way of potential families that are willing to adopt children. Right now, we are partnering with the Head of Social Services in Krivoy Rog Pavel Dabizha and with the Head of the organization “True Hope”- Maksim Fetisov with a goal in mind to prevent children going into the orphanage. We believe children need to live in families! That’s why as we have found a resource family, now we are looking for a child, who will be placed in this family.

VITALIY AND ALINA KURDICH! AMAZING STORY!

Yesterday, we have received an email from our “Adopt Ukraine” project manager Vikotoria. She shared with us an amazing story about the family that she has been working with throughout 2010. It was one those stories that really motivates our work.

Vitaliy and Alina Kudrich are from Krivoi Rig. They never had biological children. After some time, they have decided to adopt a child. Our staff Victoria has been helping this family with consultations, document procedures, as well as with the process of searching for the child. It was extremely hard to find a child for them. In many cases orphanages in Ukraine do not want to let people adopt from their institution and very often there is a lot of opposition.

Finally, there was found a child for this family. It took months and much effort to help this family to get the child from the orphanage. When the parents came to pick up the child they discovered that the boy was diagnosed with five pathologies and orphanage workers suggested no to take such a child with so many special needs. But this family agreed to take this boy into the family. Now, this boy is about 8 months old and most amazing fact is that none of diagnoses have been proved to be true. He is healthy! Kudrich family is already planning to adopt a girl as well!

More stories to come……

LIFE SKILLS FOR ORPHANS!

 In January of 2011 we were able to develop a good partnership with an organization, called “True Hope” in Krivoi Rig. This organization works primarily in orphanage institutions and with orphanage graduates. They have developed a team of committed volunteers, who have a heart for orphan kids in their town. Upon the request from the head of “Tue Hope”, ILDC national trainer conducted Life Skills training. It was for the team of volunteers, who minister to the orphanage graduates, with a goal in mind to help teens to settle in their lives after they graduate from the orphanage. In most cases and for most of the time the kids in the orphanage are told what to do and everything is scheduled for them until they graduate. When they leave the orphanage, they face lots of challenges and they are not prepared to face them!

That is why Life Skills program is so needed for them. With the help of a mentor, they receive a training how to do ordinary things like cooking a meal, buying groceries, paying the bills, doing a budget, etc.

This training was a great success! The participants went through 10 modules in 4 days and at the end of the training everyone received a certificate.The volunteers were so thankful for this opportunity! At this time, a new group of volunteers from one church is getting ready for this training as well.

Another Life Skills training will be conducted in Ternopol Region in Western Ukraine in the near future.

Look out for the posts, where we will share with you how the training goes!

ILDC GOES OUT TO NEW REGIONS OF UKRAINE!

With our project “Adopt Ukraine” we were able to make 2 important connections with churches in Cherkassy and Kharkov regions. We plan to do presentations for promotion of national adoption with the propose to mobilize churches and find Christian families to adopt children who are in the orphanages at the moment. Every child deserves to be in a family and our dream is to see Ukraine without orphans. Our project manager Victoria will be going at the end of this month to Cherkassy region first and the next month she will be In Kharkov.

Please support her in your prayers so that in result of those presentations more children would find their families!

Stay tuned, we will keep you updated on the results of these presentations and stories from the families who already adopted.

PAVEL LEFT HOSPITAL!

In previous post we have talked about Pavels hospitalization.
He has been in intense care for a week. I have called Vika In Krivy Rig today to find out about Pavel health. Vika has shared with me that Pavels health has emproved and he was discharged from hospital after a week. He is well and now back to work. We were amazed by his quick recovery. Praise God.

We want to express our gratitude for your prayers.