Young People at the Heart of Lumos
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When youth advocates speak about institutional care from personal experience, people listen differently. Their voice creates an impact that no expert could ever.

– Eugenia Godoroja, Lumos Head of Child and Youth Participation.​

 

Lumos Youth Advisory Boards

 

A Lumos Youth Advisory Board is a group of young people with lived experience of the care and protection system who work in formal partnership with Lumos to shape our policies, services, and advocacy.

Established in 2017 and now active in every country where Lumos works, the Boards ensure that children’s voices directly influence how care systems are designed and reformed.

This collaboration leads to stronger, more effective care services, better-informed legislation, and care reforms that protect future generations from institutionalisation while empowering young people to become skilled, confident advocates and active citizens.

The partnership between Lumos and Youth Advisory Board members also supports young people to lead change by:
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Giving them meaningful responsibilities
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Providing a platform to raise their voices
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Enabling them to experience what it means to be active citizens, influencing care reform to protect future generations from institutionalisation
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Offering participation in a range of activities and events, providing personal growth opportunities to members
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The engagement of Youth Advisory Boards helps young people to build important skills which they can use in their professional and personal lives.

Most of the Youth Advocates who work with Lumos have gone on to build successful careers and are loving parents for their own children.

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Stories from Youth Advocates

 
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Pavel: Turning Lived Experience into Change

Pavel spent the first 13 years of his life in an institution in Moldova, where he was placed as a baby alongside his older brother.

He grew up surrounded by violence, hunger, and emotional neglect, without a sense of family or safety. Protected by his brother, Pavel eventually ran away at 13 and was later taken to hospital, where a social worker offered him the chance to live with a foster family — a turning point in his life.

Foster care introduced him to stability, freedom, and care for the first time. After six months, he reunited with his brother, trained as a tiler, and later joined Lumos’ Advisory Council, sharing his experiences nationally and internationally to improve care systems for children.

Today, Pavel is a trained social worker and co-founded an organisation giving children in care a voice, continuing to speak out so every child can grow up in a loving family.
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Olesea: From Orphanage to Independence

Olesea spent part of her childhood in a large institution in Moldova, where she lived among hundreds of children, isolated from society and deprived of love, safety, and family care. Placed there because her parents lacked resources and faced pressure due to her disability, she experienced daily fear, violence, and neglect in a system that treated children as numbers rather than individuals.

Her life changed when institutional care reform in Moldova, supported by Lumos, enabled her move into foster care — where, for the first time, she experienced stability, safety, and love.

Now a social worker, wife, and mother of two, Olesea is a member of the Lumos Advisory Council, advocating nationally and internationally for care reform that puts children first. She continues to share her experience to help ensure no child grows up in an institution, and every child can belong to a loving family.
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Stories from Youth Advocates

 
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Pavel: Turning Lived Experience into Change

Pavel spent the first 13 years of his life in an institution in Moldova, where he was placed as a baby alongside his older brother.

He grew up surrounded by violence, hunger, and emotional neglect, without a sense of family or safety. Protected by his brother, Pavel eventually ran away at 13 and was later taken to hospital, where a social worker offered him the chance to live with a foster family — a turning point in his life.

Foster care introduced him to stability, freedom, and care for the first time. After six months, he reunited with his brother, trained as a tiler, and later joined Lumos’ Advisory Council, sharing his experiences nationally and internationally to improve care systems for children.

Today, Pavel is a trained social worker and co-founded an organisation giving children in care a voice, continuing to speak out so every child can grow up in a loving family.
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Olesea: From Orphanage to Independence

Olesea spent part of her childhood in a large institution in Moldova, where she lived among hundreds of children, isolated from society and deprived of love, safety, and family care. Placed there because her parents lacked resources and faced pressure due to her disability, she experienced daily fear, violence, and neglect in a system that treated children as numbers rather than individuals.

Her life changed when institutional reform in Moldova, supported by Lumos, enabled her move into foster care — where, for the first time, she experienced stability, safety, and love.

Now a social worker, wife, and mother of two, Olesea is a member of the Lumos Advisory Council, advocating nationally and internationally for care reform that puts children first. She continues to share her experience to help ensure no child grows up in an institution, and every child can belong to a loving family.
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Different countries, different focuses

Each Lumos Youth Advisory Board reflects the differing needs of children and young people in the context of care reform:

  • For Lumos Moldova, the Youth Advisory Board is focused on building coalitions with other youth networks as well as efforts to influence the government on care reform.
  • For Lumos Ukraine, the group provides peer-to-peer mental health support and also works to support the other children around them.
  • For Lumos Colombia, many of the group members have shared their experiences at events and conferences to highlight the need to transform the care and protection systems for children in the country.
  • For Lumos Kenya, the Youth Advisory Board raises awareness on the issues affecting children and young people across the country. Beginning in Embu County, members champion family-based care and lead youth-driven research, helping build the evidence needed to inform meaningful child protection and care reform. Their participation ensures young people’s voices play a meaningful role in shaping care reform.
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Different countries, different focuses

Each Lumos Youth Advisory Board reflects the differing needs of children and young people in the context of care reform:

  • For Lumos Moldova, the Youth Advisory Board is focused on building coalitions with other youth networks as well as efforts to influence the government on care reform.
  • For Lumos Ukraine, the group provides peer-to-peer mental health support and also works to support the other children around them.
  • For Lumos Colombia, many of the group members have shared their experiences at events and conferences to highlight the need to transform the care and protection systems for children in the country.
  • For Lumos Kenya, the Youth Advisory Board raises awareness on the issues affecting children and young people across the country. Beginning in Embu County, members champion family-based care and lead youth-driven research, helping build the evidence needed to inform meaningful child protection and care reform. Their participation ensures young people’s voices play a meaningful role in shaping care reform.
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We know that change begins when adults listen to and take on board the requests and contributions of children and young people, and when they become true partners in solving problems.

-Lumos Ukraine & Colombia Youth Advisory Boards.

 

The Future

In 2026, we will bring together members of the different Youth Advisory Boards in person to share experiences, inspire each other and build connections at a Global Youth Advisory Board event.
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We know that change begins when adults listen to and take on board the requests and contributions of children and young people, and when they become true partners in solving problems.

-Lumos Ukraine & Colombia Youth Advisory Boards.

 

The Future

In 2026, we will bring together members of the different Youth Advisory Boards in person to share experiences, inspire each other and build connections at a Global Youth Advisory Board event.
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Youth Particiaption in Action
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