stories

The evacuation of Dunkirk, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, began in May 1940, when large numbers of Allied soldiers had been cut off and surrounded by German troops during World War II. Today, we are facing a different kind of crisis: hundreds of thousands of children in Europe are orphaned or separated from their families. Poverty, war, lack of support and other desperate circumstances leave parents unable to provide adequate care, especially if their child is born with special needs. Precious young souls are surrounded not by armies, but by the four walls of an institution, growing up without the love and safety of a family.

Together we have an opportunity to help more orphaned and vulnerable children and to strengthen families through WWO Hope Groups and other programs from the WWO Roadmap. $100,000 Needed.

In September 2023 WWO Europe Programmes Manager, Suvi, was part of a team to convene and host a first roundtable in her own country of Finland. 18 people with varied expertise and experience in the Finnish care system shared hopes and vision for the role of the church in helping children in the care system.

For 5 years Mathilda has managed Alo ! Mik’s community center in a Roma community - a poor and challenging area of the capital city, Tirana. Having seen the impact of the relationships they have built over years with the children and teenagers, they have introduced a mentoring program for the teenagers. One of the problems in this community is early marriages for girls. The team wants to strengthen their 'daughters' - as the team sees those girls - to have a voice regarding their own future, to be able to continue their education, and not to marry too early.

During the summer of 2023, a Polish NGO in collaboration with YWAM Poland, was able to host 30 Ukrainian children at their camps. Many of them were children who fled Ukraine because of the war last year. Therapeutic workshops were an important part of the camp programme together with recreational activities.