stories

You can share in the holy task of ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, stable and nurturing permanent family, and reaches their God-given potential. How can you best equip yourself to join the movement? Finding the right path for you begins with matching your role with your vision. Take a short quiz at https://wworoadmap.org/ and the result will be a set of recommended resources you can use to get started down your personalized path of the roadmap, along with full access to the WWO Roadmap booklet in PDF form.

Neglect, family separation, institutional living, failed reunification, foster care. Victor, Lev and Christina have walked a difficult road over the course of their young lives. The Ukrainian siblings were placed in an orphanage in 2019 as a result of their mother failing to provide safety and care. It was difficult for the siblings to adjust to life at the orphanage, but by sticking together they tried their best to settle in to their new environment. Before much time had passed, things took a dramatic shift when the global COVID-19 pandemic began and the government’s response was to shut down orphanages and send kids back home. But was their home a safe place for these young siblings to return to? 

16- year-old Vijay* lives with his single father and seven other siblings in the nation of Sri Lanka. When the lockdowns due to COVID-19 began in Sri Lanka, Vijay’s father struggled in his role as a single parent. Keeping the children at home and managing the family during the many weeks of the imposed curfews was a daunting task. This overburdened father often lost his patience with his children and resorted to punishment to correct difficult behaviour. He wondered how he could continue to cope while he and the children were confined to their home.

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged families everywhere. In the African nation of Malawi, school shutdowns have affected the normal way of life and parenting has become an issue for many households who are spending more time at home. The nation has also seen a significant increase in reports of domestic violence and teenage pregnancies. But in the middle of this hardship the local church leaders have stepped up in Malawi to provide support to families in their communities.

Congratulations to our friends at Romania Without Orphans on their recent award and recognition for their tremendous advocacy that has created changes in laws that will help children gain families. On Wednesday, November 25, 2020, ARFO received the Gold Award distinction for the best lobby and advocacy campaign of the year. In awarding the distinction, the competition’s jury analyzed how RWO conducted the preliminary research, planned its actions, established its implementation strategies and tools as well as the capacity to evaluate the objectives. A significant point value was given to the creativity of the approach and the identification of new communication techniques. We thank God for this amazing team of advocates in Romania!