«A family for every child»: a picnic for foster and potential parents of children from boarding schools was held in Mykolaiv

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A Family for Every Child» for foster and prospective parents. Photo: NikVesti

On Saturday, 6 September, a space was organised in Mykolaiv to communicate and support future families who want to take in a child from an orphanage, as well as families who have already become adoptive parents, guardians or foster carers.

This was reported by the correspondent of NikVesti.

During the event, families could talk to experts in the field of social work and psychologists. Adoptive parents, foster parents and foster carers shared their experiences and talked about the challenges they face. Play areas and masterclasses were arranged for children.

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The «Family for Every Child» project has been operating in Ukraine for two years. Mykolaiv has become the third city to implement this initiative. Previously, similar picnics were held in Mukachevo and Khmelnytskyi.

According to Kateryna Osadcha, the founder of the charity, the project's goal is to support family-based forms of upbringing and motivate more families to become adoptive parents and foster carers.

«This event is designed to bring together families from different family forms of upbringing, foster parents, adoptive parents, social services, NGOs, as well as future adopters and foster parents. It is important for us to inspire people to become foster parents and adoptive parents, so that this chain of goodness becomes even longer»,» said Kateryna Osadcha.

Founder of the charity Kateryna Osadcha. Photo: NikVesti

Foster carer Ivan Rudnytskyi joined the event. He said that this was his first experience of fostering. For almost a month now, he has had a one-and-a-half-year-old boy in his family.

«This is a new form. We are the second foster family in the city. Foster care, firstly, gives parents a chance to undergo rehabilitation and return their child to the family. Secondly, it is an opportunity for a child to see a different reality if he or she has lived in difficult circumstances. Currently, we can take two children under patronage, and if there is an opportunity, we are ready to take another one,» said Ivan Rudnytskyi.

The woman Svitlana. Photo: NikVesti

Svitlana also shared her story. First, she adopted a boy, and then two more girls. One of them is her son's sister.

«My story started with a desire to adopt a child. At first, I thought about a girl because I was afraid to take a boy because I was alone. But in the programme «Looking for Parents» I saw a boy who looked very much like me as a child and realised that this was my child. At first I was hesitant, but my family supported me, and that was very important. I took the boy and raised him from the age of eight. Now he is a grown man, we are still very close: I am his mother and he is my son. I knew he had a younger sister, but she was taken away by her own father. Later, she found herself in difficult circumstances again, and I decided to take her in. There was another girl next to her, and they were holding hands. I couldn't separate them and adopted them both,» says Svitlana.

More than 300 people came to the «Family for Every Child» event. The next such picnic is planned to be held in Odesa.

Photo report

A picnic «A Family for Every Child» for foster and prospective parents was held in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

A picnic was held in Mykolaiv «A family for every child» for foster and future parents. Photo: NikVesti

As a reminder, a child was kidnapped from the crisis centre «City of Kindness» and hidden in the Mykolaiv Regional Children's Home for over a year. Instead of rehabilitation, the girl was kept in isolation, tied to a chair. And the authorities did everything they could to prevent the child from being handed over to those who really love her.