Facilitation Team

Ruth is from the UK, where she has worked as a lawyer specializing in cases of child protection, adoption, and domestic violence for over 20 years. During 2019 she travelled extensively in South America and Africa, where she was moved by stories of thousands of vulnerable and orphan children being harmed by the legal process that was supposed to protect them. She found the laws were not being implemented properly in many cases. In partnership with AFFEO and VIVA Together For Children, Ruth founded International Justice for Children, which works to support governments and the judiciary legal systems that ensure each child’s right to live in a safe, loving, permanent home. Ruth has a long history working as a consultant lawyer in UK court proceedings concerning children. She was appointed as WWO Europe's Leading Facilitator in 2026. 

A Canadian missionary living in Romania, Amy is the Operations & Communications Manager for WWO Europe, and a volunteer working with disabled children in state care. Formally educated as a Red Seal Chef, Amy was in restaurant management and private catering before transitioning to a finance role at Canada’s largest privately-owned security company. She nannied periodically for nearly two decades, and gained familiarity of the medical world as she provided palliative care to her mother for many years. Amy was a member of a family band that recorded and produced eight albums, performing across Canada. In the local church, she has taught children, mentored young adults, led women’s Bible studies, sang on worship teams, and served in disabilities and hospitality ministries. She is passionate for every orphan to know the love of their Heavenly Father, especially disabled children who are so often hidden away and forgotten.

Suvi comes from Northern Finland. Previously she has worked with Operation Mobilisation in Siberia, Russia, where she first got to know children from orphanages. Her educational background is in early education. She has previously worked in administration for two non-profits in Israel and Norway. Suvi has MA in Non-profit Management and Leadership from the Hebrew University in Israel and MA in Service Management from Finland. Suvi speaks five languages and together with her husband is actively involved in a network of believers and churches in Northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. She serves the WWO Europe Facilitation Team as Programmes Manager and works towards building national networks in Finland and Scandinavia.

Involved with World without Orphans from the beginning, Barbara has worked with children since 1990. She has worked with street children in India, in a group home for teenagers in conflict with the law in Switzerland and has been one of the leaders of the children's ministry in a large Swiss church for several years. During 2002-2022 Barbara was part of the international leadership team of King's Kids/YWAM and has a rich experience in working cross culturally. For many years Barbara was part of her sister and brother-in-laws foster family as an aunty, helping to care for their children. She is a trainer and coach in Trauma and Attachment and has written her own training manual on that topic. She has an MA and a PhD in Holistic Child Development and travels widely to train people who work with children, especially with orphans and children in foster care. Barbara experienced orphanhood herself as a child and has a big heart for all vulnerable children, both in her own country of Switzerland and internationally.