Vibrant Corners

Since the beginning of 2024, I have been leading ChildVoice’s Eastern Europe project. I started remotely from Scotland until, in late 2024, the Lord pushed me through an open door to move to the Republic of Moldova. Life here—navigating the complexities of post- Soviet society and serving in an active war zone in Ukraine—is deeply challenging, yet incredibly rewarding. 

My role is to explore how ChildVoice can bring its values and theory of change model to this region. That means I spend much of my time assessing needs, working with local partners, building and delivering trainings, developing and sourcing helpful curricula, and supporting, mentoring, and encouraging local staff and leaders.

1. In Moldova, this has looked like: 

• Developing and supporting two new transition homes for extremely vulnerable social orphan teens alongside our local partners.

• Coaching and training other individuals and programme leaders through a discipleship- and coaching-based approach.

• Building relationships and exploring new partnerships across the country. 

2. In Ukraine, this has looked like:  

• Training and mentoring young leaders in developing the House of Youth, a community-based youth centre in a village in Mykolaiv Oblast. 

• Supporting our various partners in their work across the country. 

• Building relationships and seeking out new partnerships, especially in the southern and central regions. 

3. In Ukraine, this has looked like:  

• Developing and implementing training in areas like trauma-informed care, participatory educational methods, spiritual formation, whole person development, safeguarding and child protection, and staff wellbeing.

• Networking and connecting our partners with additional training opportunities and resources from Moldova, Ukraine or abroad

• Assessing local curricula and training opportunities to share with partners in both countries.