Building hope and families in Ukraine

The meeting did not go as expected.

Mormon humanitarian missionaries Brent and Charlene Lee thought that the Ukrainian official would be excited about their plans for another international conference on foster care and orphans. Not only would this conference help several countries, but it would also be great public relations for the LDS Church.

But the official wasn't interested. She had a new mandate from the president of Ukraine.

In Ukraine 2006 to 2008

Brent Lee was an oral surgeon. Charlene Lee was a psychologist — a marriage and family therapist.

Ukraine was the Lees' third foray into humanitarian work. Their first mission was in Bolivia for Deseret International and focused on Brent sharing his dental knowledge and skills.

Indonesia was a similar mission, this time for the LDS Church. In Indonesian villages, crowds would line up for help from the Lees.

Things were more complicated in Kiev, Ukraine. People did not line up for their help, but in some ways the need was greater.

Figuring out how to meet that need was a challenge.

Ukraine officials had seen what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had done for Bulgaria's foster-care system and wanted similar help to reduce the number of children in orphanages. As the country directors for the LDS Church's humanitarian work in Ukraine (which included three missions), the Lees, of Pocatello, Idaho, facilitated the project.

First, Nadia Komaroba, the deputy minister that oversaw foster care for Ukraine, spent a week in Salt Lake City becoming acquainted with Utah's foster-care system. Then, the Lees helped organize an international conference on foster care. Six countries participated.

"As far as we know, it was the first international humanitarian conference done by the church in our area," Charlene said.

"And it was wonderfully successful."

They began to plan a larger conference on foster care for the next year.

Identifying the real need

One night, the Lees were thinking about the work they were doing and the challenges Ukrainian families were experiencing.