Colleen Thompson and her family have been trying to adopt a Ukrainian girl for three years — now, as war rips Ukraine apart, 'they're on their knees'
Most of the Thompson family members are shown on the left; on the right is"M," whom they're trying to rescue and adopt from Ukraine. , Colleen Thompson of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday about her family's desperate efforts to help orphans in Ukraine get out of the country safely.
"Our daughter was in the war zone the night Russia invaded," said Thompson, who usually travels to Ukraine 5 or 6 times a year. Most of the Thompson family members are shown on the left; on the right is"M," whom they're trying to rescue and adopt from Ukraine. The Thompson family of Kentucky, along with a friend — but minus"M," whom they're trying to adopt from Ukraine. The parents, David and Colleen , are seated in the front row, on the left. The original plan was for Thompson’s daughter and other children in the orphanage to evacuate to Poland. But those plans hit a roadblock when the orphans’ chaperone dropped them off "temporarily" at a different orphanage near Lviv, Ukraine, said Thompson.
"We are literally begging Ukrainians to chaperone these children [safely] so we do this legally," said Thompson. "My hope for ‘M’ is that we can get her released with her group to travel across the border into Poland," said Thompson. "Then, to get her settled at one of the churches we have lined up [in Poland] and apply for a visa to get her here temporarily until she’s able to return to Ukraine when it’s safe."
"It's beyond scary and you feel helpless. Trying to aid children from a continent away is challenging.""We [the adoptive families] have all previously hosted these children. We've had home studies. We have hosted these children in our homes for Christmas or summer hosting, and we’ve returned the children when it was time for them to return to Ukraine."
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