At the end of 2013 we would learn that 50.000 children are still suffering the effects of abandonment, and institutional care in orphanages is still part of our present. Children need to belong to a family and this need is deeply rooted, as God placed it in our DNA, and the consequences of not having a family are devastating.

There were troubled times in child protection, family placement considered at the limit of legality, bureaucracy was retaining children in institutions and, once entered into the system, they often stayed there until the maximum age limit. We soon realized that we need to become a platform for families who want to get involved, either in adoption or family placement.

In 2015, Tzuby’s Kids was founded, an organization that changed destinies, both in Bucharest and across Romania. Tzuba spring is the place where the tribe of Judah settled after it took possession of the promised land. A small stream that sustained the life of a nation, generation after generation, for millennia.

In just five years, dozens of children have reached families through our direct support, children who are no longer in institutional care. Hundreds of adoptive and foster families have benefited from support groups and therapeutic intervention and over 1,000 people have been trained in caring for children with a history of trauma.

The pandemic came just as we were organizing the 10th camp for adopted children and their families, thus we had to reinvent all of our services. Surprisingly, during 2020 we doubled the couseling sessions for adoption and during the first five months of 2021 we already exceeded the number of people counseled last year. The online transition of our services has opened us up to beneficiaries from all over Romania and even to Romanians from all over the world.

Today, the legislative framework looks differently. Together with the Romania Without Orphans Alliance we contributed to the issuance of family placement standards, in court we eliminated the prohibitions on the placement of children in families and we made amendments to the Adoption Law. Over 80 international communications and public relations specialists awarded us with the Gold Award for the best lobbying and advocacy campaign.

Today we have alternatives for the adoption process, certified adopters can directly view profiles of eligible children, there is a limit to the period a child can stay in the care system, temporary intervention, bureaucratic stages have been eliminated and case managers can now be fined if the cases are not processed in due time.

And this is just the beginning. This year we want to bring our services out into nature, where connecting with the beauty of God’s creation can contribute to the healing and recovery of children with a history of trauma and their families. At TzubyLand we will continue to be a source of hope, training and support.

Thank you everyone, for being with us!