A Week of Preparing - Our Privilege

We hear it everywhere - whether home in the US, here in Ukraine and I know we will hear it next week in Poland. Adoptive and foster families struggle with the issues facing them. Often facing unexpected behavioral and emotional issues in their children,  families discover the dream of caring for an abused or neglected child is evaporating into hurt, chaos and confusion.  They find themselves in a situation in which they see no answers. This leaves many hopeless and beyond discouragement.

It is this reality that fuels the passion that David and I and our team members, Lynn and Ruby have for our newest training focus - preparing families and those who support them to grow into becoming a trauma competent healing presence in a child's life.

We spent the first two days of this week concluding our trauma informed care training at SOS Village in Kiev. We began the series in late March and finished it on Tuesday.  The training day turned from just being informational to transformation as the participants really connected with the healing principles of TBRI( Trust Based Relational Intervention - Dr. Karyn Purvis.)

Connecting with children comes through the five senses.  These workers are creating fun lists of connecting through vision activities, hearing  activities, touch  activities, smelling  activities and tasting  activities.  Their lists were very creative. They were excited about the useful ideas.

Beginning this week at SOS Children's Village in Kiev, we completed two days of training
with social workers, psychologists, and foster moms on trauma informed care.

We have focused the last portion of this week on training ILDC (International Leadership and Development Center, Kiev) trainers. These trainers are charged with the task of taking the material back to their agencies to train social workers and families in principles trauma informed care. The same thing is happening here as it did at SOS...our trainers are experiencing real insight in how to teach principles that will strengthen families.

A Glimpse of  Working with ILDC Trainers - Our Privilege

Natalia and Luba are planning their trainer's presentation for Friday afternoon.

David is sharing about sensory processing issues with traumatized children

The trainers are learning how to conduct the sensory processing activity with future participants.

                       

  Lena and Natasha, both adoptive/foster parents, are planning their presentation for Friday.

       

Sharing a group assignment, Luba, Lena, Natalia and Natasha are discussing ways to maximize a child's sense of safety in the foster/adoptive home.

We finish with the ILDC trainers on Friday afternoon, have a down day in Kiev, before leaving early Sunday morning for a conference in Poland and then training the trauma series.

Before Lynn and Ruby left Ukraine on Sunday, we had a rare opportunity to connect with them this trip in Kiev.  We are so thankful for the opportunities they have opened to us both in Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

                Outside a restaurant Saturday evening in Kiev. 

                                        

David and I look at such opportunities as God's gift to us to be able to share. What we have been given, we want to pass on....and it is our privilege.