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This Child Here is a registered 501(C)(3) non-profit.
What we do.
We work with families displaced by the war. Thousands of people have fled cities in the east and arrived in Izmail, Ukraine in the west. As many fathers are in the military or still residing in places now dangerous, these families often consist of mothers and children. We provide products from grocery stores, and centres for youth and children's activities, including sports, music, art, and programs led by psychologists. Through these activities, summer camps, and the supportive community we have built, we offer therapy for the trauma and shock suffered by these families. This Child Here, Inc. is a Validated Ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Vision, Mission and Values
Even in the midst of this current invasion of russian forces into Ukraine, we feel that our vision, mission, and values continue to serve the dreams we have and the work we do.
Vision: Vulnerable youth and families in Ukraine living in peace and dignity.
Mission: To empower vulnerable youth and families of Ukraine to lead lives grounded in peace and dignity.
Values: In an environment marked by violence, conflict and distrust, we empower people, and are governed by the core values of :
Spiritual Vitality: living a life of inspiration, energy and commitment
Individual Reverence: everyone matters, regardless of where they are from or where you find them.
Personal Impact: People change people, especially children. People empower people, especially through family.
OUR HISTORY
When I first went to Ukraine in 2005, I saw kids living underground, in sewers, dirt basements and in abandoned buildings. A year later I started a non profit called This Child Here and moved to Odessa to help “street kids.”
I worked with a Ukrainian charity called The Way Home and then began my own projects. Street kids, I learned, came from orphanages, broken families. I met trained psychologists who work with the Alternatives to Violence Program and sent them into orphanages. I hired psychologists to work with groups of kids in public schools. We focused on trust, empowerment and conflict management.
In 2010, we began preparing foster families in Ukraine to receive youth and children from orphanages. There were not many, but the number was growing. Today there are about 750 orphanges and 106,000 youth and children in them. Ukraine is closing orphanages, but the move to families is not easy. Families need to want them. Families need to be trained.
In another program, we train mentors for youth living in orphanages and facilities. Every youth and child needs a trusting relationship with adults.
In 2014, came the revolution and war. We began working for peace. We train teens how to manage conflict. It's not political. It's about the prejudice and facing the anger within. It's about relationships and finding peace within. We call it “peacemaking.” We run a summer camp for families displaced by the war. We support and strengthen these families.
On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. All our work now is with families, mostly mothers and children who are displaced by this war. If you look at our posts under "Latest News" you will see the specifics of how we are addressing the problems of shock and trauma.
Most of our work is and has been in environments marked by conflict, distrust, and violence.
We work to build spiritual vitality: lives of inspiration, energy and commitment
We value individual reverence: every person matters, regardless of where you find them where they are from or how young or old they are. We have a reverence for that in this organization.
We believe in personal impact: people change people. People empower people. We empower youth and children. We empower families, to empower their children.
We believe every youth and child needs a life of dignity and a place of peace. A life, we say, grounded in dignity and peace.
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