Mona and Emanuel Opreanu’s two  biological children were teenagers when they decided it was time to follow a dream they’d had for years. “Our passion for abandoned children began a long time ago,” they remarked. “We were thinking that we would adopt one or two children, but we ended up with five children, all siblings. Now we are a large, happy and, of course, noisy family.”

Their journey has not been an easy one, but they found help when attending a camp for adoptive and foster parents run by Tzuby’s Kids, an AFFEO partner. “The connection with other parents that we have had at Tzuby’s Kids helped us a lot in our adoption journey,” they said.

In 2023, Tzuby’s Kids provided support to more than 1,000 adoptive parents, foster parents and children, in therapeutic camps, courses and support groups, both in Bucharest and in several other Romanian cities. “The past years have seen record numbers of adoptions compared to the last 20 years. It is increasingly evident that the need for support services for the integration of children into adoptive and foster families is critical—and will be increasing from one year to another,” said Liviu Mihăileanu, Tzuby’s Kids founder.

AFFEO has been pleased to support the camps that Tzuby’s Kids holds for adoptive and foster families, as well as the trauma-informed care for families which Tzuby’s Kids also provides.

A decade ago, tens of thousands of children were stuck in the protection system in Romania. Foster care was at the limit of legality, there were no deadlines for reintegration into the biological family, and the declaration of adoptability was made too late or never. Tzuby’s Kids was instrumental in making legislative and system changes to such practices and now aims to develop strong parents who, through competent love, can raise happy children.

Please pray for the Opreanu family and others like them in Romania receiving much needed assistance and support from organizations like Tzuby’s Kids. Thank God with us that Romanian adoptions are on the rise, and please pray for those Romanian children still waiting for forever families. Pray also that the Lord would continue to meet the needs of Tzuby’s Kids as they support vulnerable Romanian children as well as adoptive and foster parents.