In early December Mykola Kuleba, long-time AFFEO partner, and Heather Dyer, AFFEO president, attended a Senate Committee hearing on “The Abduction of Ukrainian Children by the Russian Federation.” Mykola was invited to provide testimony.
It was a powerful hearing. Mykola and Heather recalled how hard it was nearly four years ago, at the beginning of our (AFFEO and Save Ukraine) advocacy, to get an open door on Capitol Hill. “At times we felt we were speaking into a black hole,” Heather recalls. “It’s so different today.We heard members of congress passionately speak of the atrocities and their first-hand experiences meeting with some of the returned children.”
We praise God for the awakening, even as we continue to advocate for the thousands of children who still need to come home. Thank you for your continual prayers which help us speak up for the voiceless!
As Ukrainian orphans and vulnerable children are returned from occupation and Russian captivity, your prayers are helping them heal from their trauma. Thirty-five specialists with Save Ukraine were trained in an intensive four-day in-person Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training focused on practical application of three core principles: empowering, connecting, and correcting children “from hard places.” In addition, AFFEO supported three of these specialists to become newly certified TBRI Practitioners, allowing them to train others to better support children along their journey to healing and family. So many children need help. Expanding the number of practitioners is absolutely critical! Thank you for supporting this mission through your prayers — for ensuring that hurting children find safety and care.