Welcome Seyhan & Reyhan! Adoption Update (Bulgaria)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Welcome Seyhan & Reyhan! Adoption Update

Its update time and boy do we have some GREAT news to share! But first, let's start from the beginning....

Darryl and I started filing paperwork to adopt back in November of last year--about 10 months ago. When we filed for the adoption we had every intent of filling for one child. However, the social worker suggested that we put one to two children on the application... just in case! So we listened and put down one to two male children...just in case...

Ever since that day Darryl and I have felt that God would place two more children into our family. But I thought, na! There is no way they will find two boys together under the age of four! After all, two children are not on my radar...(But God had other plans! His radar and mine were different ). After a few months past we finished our paperwork and were told that it would be another year before we received a referral. So we prepared ourselves for the wait. But there was something inside of me that kept saying, "Its sooner than you think...Its sooner than you think..."

Then GOD happened..... An email came through from our adoption agency stating that there were brothers who needed to be adopted. One of the boys, Reyhan, is age 2 and the other, Seyhan, is age 3. These brothers needed a home and soon! Well the email went out to an entire group of people, including us. But once I saw the picture of the two boys, my heart leaped, and I knew deep down that these boys were ours! We feel in love! And Instantly God whispered... "there yours". But I thought, "Lord there are two!" God whispered, "there yours, I already told you two were coming." We were filled with joy.

So we emailed the agency and told them we wanted to look into the boys file. But sadly the boys had already been adopted out by another family. We were told that if that family canceled we would be next in line. So we waited days and it seemed to take forever...

Then GOD happened again...Something happened... THE FAMILY CANCELED.... and the boys were ours!! They were Ours! We were full of joy, nervous, and scared all at once... BUT--Oh yes there's a BUT--the agency was soon informed that there were now three other families who wanted to adopt the boys and since these families had been waiting longer then us, they got bumped up in line ahead of us and we got pushed back! We had gone from 2nd in line to 1st then to 4th! How does that happen? I was on a roller coaster of emotions! In fact we all were. Lord, "I thought you said they were ours?...Lord?" We were so ready to fight for these boys!! And I can't even begin to tell you what was going through my mind! But none the less it's in God's hands. And we must trust Him for that!

Then when we finally came to grips with ourselves and gave it all over to God. The phone rang....(seriously...within seconds from when we gave it over to God the phone rang!)

And then GOD happened yet again.... Our agency called and told us after reviewing the files of the 4 families. They decided that our family is the best fit for these children. Usually they do not move families ahead of others, but in this case they did! They thought these kids fit our profile perfectly!!!

So please join us in welcoming our TWO SONS/Brothers... Our GIFTS from GOD!Reyhan Age 2 (he is in the blue). Seyhan Age 3 (he is in the white and orange)

On another note, please believe me when I say there is a lot more to the story, but for sake of space, you got the shorter version. God is so good and we are excited already!

By the way did I happen to mention that Ayva was praying for 'one brother for her, and one for Tessa?' God hears the prayers of the little ones doesn't He!

As for the boys names, we are not sure at the moment what we are going to do. Reyhan and Seyhan are there Bulgarian names, which we plan to keep somewhere in their names.

So What does that Mean Now?

This means that we travel soon to meet our two precious sons! We are required by Bulgaria to first fly down to file paper work, then 4-5 months later we will make a second flight to pick up our sons.

This also means that because there are two children now, instead of one, the price has gone from $33,000 to about $45,000, with only a few months left to raise it in. I am pleased to say that God has already brought us up to the $30,000 mark! God is good! So we are currently short about $15,000 (the cost of the second adoption).

We know God has brought us this far and He will continue to bring us through to completion! Please pray with us that God will continue to provide financially for this adoption, we know we serve a Mighty God!

Upcoming Fundraiser!

**In order to raise funds to bring home our 2 sons we will be having another Fundraiser Garage Sale on October 8th & 9th. We are asking for donations and will except anything: new, old, large, or small. We'll take it all. :) This is a huge way you can help support our adoption.

Please remember to keep our family in your prayers, as well as our sons in Bulgaria. Thank you all for continuing to embark on this journey with us, and please join us in this joyous moment! We will continue to keep you updated as we get information in and your updates will come a little more often now that we are on the 'fast track'.

“Remember the words of the Lord Jess, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35

If you would like to donate to the cause, you can make a tax deductable donation to: Kingdom Kids Adoption Agency at 1417 North Lincoln Street Spokane, WA 99201. You can mail it directly to them or contact them at (509) 465-3520. 90% of the proceeds go directly to the adoption fund. Please Do Not write our name on the check. Please Do include a slip of paper stating that you would like to donate the amount to: the Hill Family Fund. You can also do this on their webpage atwww.kingdomkidsadoption.org.

Organizations: Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministry

Countries: Bulgaria

Australia's Rudd apologizes to forced child migrants

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (l.) comforts a victim after giving a national apology to the forgotten Australians and former child migrants at a ceremony in the great hall at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

Reuters

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Australia's Rudd apologizes to forced child migrants

Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized to the thousands of institutionalized children and child migrants shipped from Britain to rebuild Australia after World War II. Many were abused.

By Kathy Marks | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the November 16, 2009 edition

Sydney - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday apologized to hundreds of thousands of children abused or neglected in institutions, including some 7,000 British children shipped to Australia after World War II. Sometimes called "the orphans of Empire," they received the formal apology after decades of campaigning for recognition. As with his government's previous apologies, many of the victims here welcomed the gesture, while others expressed a desire to see more practical steps taken to overcome their losses.

Inside Parliament House in Canberra, the nation's capital, about 900 of the former child migrants gathered in the audience to hear Mr. Rudd deliver words of contrition. The prime minister told them: "We come together today to offer our nation's apology, to say to you, the forgotten Australians, and those who were sent to our shores as children without their consent, that we are sorry. Sorry that as children you were taken from your families and placed in institutions where so often you were abused. Sorry for the physical suffering, the emotional starvation, and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care. Sorry for the tragedy, the absolute tragedy, of childhoods lost."

Among those listening to the apology – which followed one delivered by Mr. Rudd last year to the "Stolen Generations" of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families – was Mick Snell, who has bleak memories of his time in a Methodist-run children's home in Sydney.

Mr. Snell arrived in Australia under a postwar plan to empty British orphanages and repopulate the former colony with "good white stock." The children, who were shipped out from 1947-67, believed their parents were dead. In reality, Mr. Snell's unmarried mother had been forced to give him up as a baby. That was the case with many of the "orphans;" others had been placed in care by impoverished families.

Parliamentary inquiries in Britain and Australia in the past decade concluded that physical and sexual abuse were "widespread and systematic" in the institutions, particularly those run by Catholic orders such as the Christian Brothers and Sisters of Mercy. The inquiries heard that many former child migrants, now in their 60s and 70s, are still deeply traumatized.

'For my kids to understand'

For some, Rudd's apology – which was also extended to Australian children who were abused and neglected in institutions – was a step forward. Speaking before traveling to Canberra, Snell said: "All I want is for them to admit it was wrong, and for my kids to be able to understand me a bit better."

For others, the gesture represented too little, too late. "I wonder how they think making an apology can right the wrong that was done," said Jean Costello.

Ms. Costello was just seven when she was sent to an orphanage in Perth run by the Sisters of Mercy. She had left England with expectations of a country where "everyone was black and there'd be animals hopping down the street."

The reality wasn't what she had imagined. Of her new home, Costello recalls: "It was a very hard, very cold sort of environment, and you learnt very early that it was easier to toe the line than go against it. The nuns were pretty free and easy with the strap, and you didn't have to do much to merit a beating."

Coming British apology?

Redress has been slow, and piecemeal. In recent years, several Australian state governments have apologized, as has the Catholic Church. Some states have offered compensation and counseling services; in others, services have been virtually non-existent. Both Britain and Australia provided funds to help people travel back to Britain to trace their families, but the money was limited and many missed out.

Some migrants learned that their parents had tried to seek them, without success – either because their names were changed when they arrived in Australia, or because parents were told by British authorities that their children were dead or had been adopted by wealthy families.

Returning to Britain, Costello found out – too late – that both her parents had lived well into their 70s. Of those responsible for her welfare, she says: "They deprived me of ever knowing my mum and dad."

There are calls for Britain to apologize, too – and, after years of turning a deaf ear, the government recently hinted that it may follow Australia's example.

Some good intentions

Yet historical records suggest that the policy of sending children to the other side of the world stemmed at the time from good intentions. Britain believed they would fare better than in cash-starved orphanages at home. Australia, meanwhile, was desperate to rebuild its population after suffering heavy war casualties. The children were cheap to house, and a ready source of labor.

And, importantly for Australia, they were white; this was an era when Australia feared being overwhelmed by "Asian hordes" from neighboring countries.

The institutions, though, were not properly inspected, and staff were mostly untrained and poorly supervised. The official inquiries heard that funds provided by the government for the children's upkeep were sometimes used to feed staff well, while the children were given scraps.

The homes also attracted pedophiles. Many children – the exact proportion is unknown – have said they were sexually abused. Others have described miserable, lonely lives, during which birthdays and Christmases went unmarked, and they never received any affection.

Laurie Humphreys, a former migrant, says: "We're all survivors, but emotionally it's had a long-lasting effect. It has affected our relationships; many of us have been divorced, and people have turned to alcoholism. People's lives have been ruined by what's happened to them."

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Countries: United Kingdom, Australia

Social services bosses in Leicestershire defend forced adoption cases

leicester_mercury
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Social services have forcibly adopted more than 200 children in Leicestershire in the past five years.

The figures, requested under the Freedom of Information Act by the Leicester Mercury, show the number of times that Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council have applied to the courts to have children adopted against their parents' will on welfare grounds.

Adoption by another family is the final and most drastic stage of the child protection process, and is only carried out if all other attempts to make a child's family home safe fail.

Cheriel O'Neill, the city council's head of service for children's resources, said: "Whenever a concern is raised about a child's welfare a council's ultimate aim is to keep a child with their parents, provided the environment they live in can be made safe."

Both councils say that alcohol and drug abuse are factors in many of the adoption cases, but physical, sexual or emotional abuse are also triggers for action.

Ms O'Neill said: "If a child is at risk of significant harm in their environment then a child protection conference is called."

This conference brings together agencies from across the city to put a plan in place with a child's parents to improve their welfare.

If this fails, councils can apply to take the children into care. If the council then reaches a stage at which all options for allowing the child to return home are exhausted, adoption is then looked at as a possibility.

Ms O'Neill said: "Local authorities deal with hundreds of cases every year, so it really is a tiny proportion which reach the adoption stage."

This year, 12 adoption orders have been made by the county council and a further 17 so far by the city council.

Ms O'Neill also pointed out that some parents choose to relinquish control of their children at birth. Two women have already chosen to give up their child in 2010 in the city. Parents go through counselling before making the decision, and have a period of several weeks in which to change their mind.

Countries: United Kingdom

'I was stolen from my mother': The heartbreaking story that raises disturbing questions about forced adoption

By Julia Lawrence
Last updated at 11:24 PM on 1st September 2010

On a sunny station platform in a pretty Cornish town this summer, holidaymakers may have witnessed a touching, but at first glance unremarkable, scene.

A mother and teenage son were nervously watching a train pull onto the platform, scanning the emerging crowd for the face of a loved one. Had she missed her train? Had they got the right time?

And finally, there she was: a pretty, petite 16-year-old, peering furtively through her fringe. Suddenly the boy broke away with a whoop. ‘It’s her!’

Countries: United Kingdom

Guangchang a couple inexplicably lost daughter

?????????????????????????????? Ganzhu town government explained: illegal adoptions has been sent to welfare welfare claims: there is no adoption records

???? ? ? ? ? ? ???? ? ??? ?Font: Big middle small ? ? into the Forum ? Dajiang Wang 2006-11-13 01:42 2006-11-13 01:42

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2004?4?5?????????????????????????????????????? April 5, 2004, birth of a child by Application has been willing to bamboo town of Zhu Zhongxi Village village Wei Dingguo's wife also birth to a healthy baby girl. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? When husband and wife when their foster Yuemu Jia, Gan bamboo Guangchang Family Planning Commission and the town of family planning office staff to the illegal adoption in the name of this baby taken away, adding that the adoption has been sent to Guangchang welfare. ?????????????????????????????? But the orphanage has claimed not to receive the baby, now, just one month old baby girl will be a fascinating missing. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? One year later, after working in the field, home of Wei Dingguo couples know their daughter was missing, after a painful torment, the couple decided to entrust lawyers Wei Dingguo no news of her daughter to seek justice.

“?????????” "Where is our daughter?"

????????????????? ? Wei Dingguo couple: her daughter was taken away just one month on

1997?12????????????????????????????????1999?12????????????????? December 1997, the town of Zhu Zhongxi Village Guangchang ganzhu villagers Wei Dingguo couple made "one-child family planning certificate", in December 1999, Yao Wei Dingguo's wife gave birth to baby girl flower pieces. 4????????????????????????????????????2004?4?5?????????????????????????????? 4 years later, Wei Dingguo application has achieved "one-child family planning, renewable license," after acquiring the Zhunsheng Zheng, April 5, 2004, in ganzhu hospitals with the help of a doctor, Yao pieces of flowers and produce Under a healthy baby girl. ????????????????????????????????????????????????? Daughter was born, shortly to be husband and wife to work outside the home of Wei Dingguo foster grandmother at home, can the couple have gone, and have not seen his daughter.

2004?5?15?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? At 3 o'clock on May 15, 2004 more Guangchang Family Planning Commission and the county town of family planning office in the Tang Guizhen ganzhu, Chung Shui wait for six to seven staff members, together with Wei's mother went to Wei Dingguo woody family, as they Cha Hukou name opens the door, the little girl to find Wei Dingguo, they asked who the child woody Wei, in reply to woody by Wei Wei Dingguo daughter said it was not later, several staff members will be taken away a little girl.

??????????????????????????????????????????????? The next morning, Wei woody find out that the family planning office and ganzhu Guangchang town family planning office staff with the baby sent to Guangchang social welfare. ????????????????????????????????????????????? In the following period of time, Wei had been to several woody Guangchang social welfare, have indeed been adopted granddaughter saw in the orphanage. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? But after two months, when the orphanage to visit Wei woody go granddaughter, the granddaughter discovered missing, ask the orphanage staff, who said her granddaughter, the information is not recorded.

????????????????????????? The couple is also at this time Wei Dingguo foreign workers, has no knowledge of all this. ??2005?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Until the second half of 2005, when Wei Dingguo that occurred after the couple returned home this, they immediately find ganzhu town government family planning office, asking them to explain the matter, but to no avail. ??????????????????????????? Later, they found Wei Dingguo Guangchang social welfare discussing the results exactly the same.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Much loss of the pain of Wei Dingguo women at a time to find the relevant department but without the slightest result, the decision to commission a lawyer responsible for the disappearance of their daughter, discussing the relevant departments.

???????????????????????? ? ganzhu Town Government: is taken away by welfare for illegal adoption picked up the baby

?10?11??????????????????? October 11, the reporter first came to understand the situation Guangchang ganzhu town. ??????????????????????????????????????????? Town government Du Xiaoliang press secretary had come out after hearing that he was just shortly after taking office, and on this little heard of, but not very clear. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In the reporter's repeated requests, the final year he called the baby taken away with the willing participation of the town mayor Fan Wuchuan Bamboo, Fan told reporters at the town received a report from the masses, said Wei woody family has a child, I do not know who, it is probably illegal adoption of children. ????????????????????2004?5?15???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? To understand the situation, the county and the town was immediately organized a staff in May 15, 2004 Wei woody arrived home early, when they found the baby, the staff also asked Wei costas this baby is not born of her daughter, But that is not woody Wei, Wei Dingguo since the baby is not, and Wei woods to the civil affairs department has no procedures for handling any of its adoption the baby illegal adoption.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????“?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……”??????????????????????????????? Fan Wuchuan Here, the reporter interrupted him, said Wei Dingguo lawyer from there, provided in its press materials, saw Wei woods this statement: "Finally, Tang Guizhen and a man went to the second floor , and granddaughter sleeping in my bed, asked me this is not the Yao gold flower child. I said no, then Tang Guizhen said: I do the Zhunsheng Zheng, you deceive us? So they took the baby hold go ... ... "Since the Tang Guizhen clear that the baby girl is Yao peanut pieces, and why is it taken away to? ????????????????????????????????????????????? Fan Wuchuan or stressed because of woody Wei Yao said the baby is not a peanut pieces, and they only will the baby taken away, then picked up by welfare come.

????????????????????????? ? Guangchang welfare: no one willing to take over the town of bamboo baby and no adoption records

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????2004?5?15???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In the afternoon, this reporter went to social welfare Guangchang, the current president of Dai Welfare Institute's purpose in coming into the hearing after the next he kept denying that they adopted the daughter of Yao gold flowers, then the staff in the adoption of information presented in this abandoned baby , the reporter did not see May 15, 2004 adoption of abandoned children around the record, and willing to bamboo town mayor Fan Wuchuan has insisted, the morning is the orphanage sent a car to be picked up the baby for the problems, Dai Cheng said he was not the Dean, and Dean when they are out on extended leave, and the specific situation he is not very clear, anyway, he learned no one is willing to take over the town of bamboo baby girl. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Even if the orphanage to pick up really extraordinary, that the town government should also go through the procedures of welfare, the town government that they pick up extraordinary, then called the town come up with evidence.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In this case, the reporter then they called the Fan Wuchuan mobile phone, as reporters into the meaning of the expression of wearing out, Fan Wuchuan the phone said: I can not talk nonsense, and suddenly asked me to take evidence time in the past so long, I go pick up? ????????????????????? Fan Wuchuan hear the dialogue between reporters and wearing into immediately went out.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Reporters with out, when a reporter asked the baby is not likely to be adopted to this problem, the one female staff member surnamed Huang, said to reporters, in fact, adoption orphanage for abandoned babies and to welfare houses Adoption abandoned babies, the state has a set of procedures.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The staff member also said that welfare of the child in adoption, after, in principle, two months after the baby in the provincial media, public information, within two months have not yet come to claim his parents, then welfare would the infant as an abandoned baby to deal with officially, that is publicly advertised within two months after the birth parents did not come to claim, then the welfare of the abandoned baby on the right to make to meet the conditions of the well-meaning people adopt adoption processing. ???????????????????????????? However, his daughter said Wei Dingguo welfare, they do of finding the baby's condition. ???????????????????????????????? In the end is the wrong address, or other causes Wei Dingguo daughter can not find, she was not hard to say.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In Guangchang welfare reporters also learned that Yao gold flower girl's mother had run off, and in institutions engaged in health staff was also seen to Wei woods several times, but that name was found in the press informed female staff, she told the press's questions noncommittal, then leave.

????????????????????? ? Civil Affairs Bureau by Application: finding out adoption records does not mean not to receive

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5?15??????? Civil Affairs Unit is responsible for social assistance Guangchang people Weigui Ning told reporters that the Bureau of Civil Affairs Wei Dingguo long to find them, they received Wei Dingguo reflect the situation, he would send someone to check before, but did not find relevant information , information on finding out on May 15 of any record. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? When asked Weigui Ning, Dai understanding into words Can not adopted for the welfare simply to Wei Dingguo's daughter, Wei Guining repeatedly denied a press statement, he said, is finding out Wei Dingguo only clue to his daughter, not on behalf of welfare does not receive her matter has come to this sake, there is always a solution of.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In the interview drew to a close, Wei Dingguo told reporters that his daughter has Guangchang petition disappearance, called the coordination of relevant departments on this matter, but the two sides did not reach an agreement regarding compensation. ??????????????????????????????????? Wei Dingguo told reporters that if the matter does not have a satisfactory result, he will resort to the law for the daughter to seek justice.

????????????????????? ? Gan Xing Law Firm: abandoned baby adopted by the department of civil affairs administration

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Jiangxi Xionghan Fu Xing counsel law firms, Wei Dingguo little girl had made "one-child family planning renewable certificate", its location shall enjoy the right of life of their parents, as a birthright. ??????????????????????????????????????????????? Guangchang relevant administrative organs and administrative chaos as staff suspected a result Wei Dingguo little girl is now missing, their right to life be questioned. ???????“??”?????????????????????????????????????? Even if the baby is "unwanted babies", adopted an abandoned baby is not widely County ganzhu town government and Jishengxitong statutory duties, but by civil affairs departments according to law.

???/????? Article, photos / reporter Wu Zhao Lei

??? Source: ???-???? Dajiang Wang - New Legal News

??? Editor: ??? Wang Shiqiang

http://www.jxnews.com.cn/jxfzb/system/2006/11/13/002372282.shtml

Countries: China

Single mothers to get apology

Single mothers to get apology
Published: Sept. 1, 2010 at 1:27 PM

PERTH, Australia, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Single mothers who had their children taken from them by the state of Western Australia will get an apology in October, a government official said Wednesday.

In what is believed to be a worldwide first, single mothers will receive an official apology from the government of Western Australia for the forced adoption of their children by the state between 1940 and the mid-1980s. Children were taken from their mothers at birth and were given up for adoption without the mothers' consent.

While there is debate about the legality of the practice, it was "reflective of the times," Peta Rule, senior media adviser to the Minister for Health, told United Press International.

"But what was done was terrible and these women were so badly treated," Rule said.

Oct. 19 has been named as a potential date for the apology to unmarried mothers adversely affected by past adoption practices, Rule said.

Countries: Australia

More convicted for human trafficking

08:23, September 01, 2010

Countries: China

Human Traffickers Receive Severe Sentences in China

2010-08-31 20:58:09 Xinhua Web Editor: Liu Donghui

Chinese courts are sentencing those convicted of trafficking women and children severe sentences, official figures show.

Death and jail sentences that range from five years to life imprisonment are considered "severe". Between January and July, 1,238 "severe" sentences were handed down to those found guilty of trafficking women and children, up about 75 percent year on year, Sun Jungong, spokesman with the Supreme People's Court (SPC), told a news conference Tuesday.

"Severe" sentences accounted for 57.9 percent of all women and children trafficking cases, compared with the average severe sentence rate for criminal cases of 15.96 percent, Sun said.

However, he didn't say how many were sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

In one major case, He Cong was executed "recently" for kidnapping 12 children, including seven infants, in south China's Guizhou Province between March 2006 and July 2007 to sell to villagers in central China's Henan Province.

In March, the SPC, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security issued a circular calling for heavier penalties for the trafficking of women and children.

The circular urged a focus on the bosses of major trafficking groups, repeat offenders and those kidnapping children.

According to Sun, courts across the country handled 1,233 women and children trafficking cases between January and July, up 45 percent year on year.

Sun said the increased number was due to a special crackdown launched in April 2009 by the Ministry of Public Security.

Furthermore, the SPC warned those buying trafficked women and children by publicizing a case in which a woman was sentenced to two years in jail with a three-year reprieve.

In that case, Li Zhongmei, after bearing two daughters, paid a local child trafficker 36,000 yuan (5,300 U.S. dollars) for a baby boy from Xinzhou City in north China's Shanxi Province in 2008.

Later, Li introduced another person to the trafficker, which led to another deal for a male infant.

Many Chinese, especially the elderly and those in rural areas, believe a boy is better than a girl because a boy can carry on the family name.

http://english.cri.cn/6909/2010/08/31/1781s592140.htm

Countries: China

Explain why you don’t have adoption records: HC to agency

Mumbai, August 24, 2010

First Published: 01:00 IST(24/8/2010)

A Matunga-based adoption agency, Shraddhanand Mahilashram, will have to explain to Bombay High Court why it does not have documents pertaining to a baby adopted by a Dutch couple in 1975. A division bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice U.D. Salvi on Monday directed Daksha Van Dijck (34) to

make Shraddhanand Mahilashram a respondent in her petition, which seeks help to trace her biological parents.

The court has issued a notice to the agency, asking it to appear in court, through an advocate, on September 13.

Daksha, a clinical psychologist, had filed the petition alleging that she was most likely kidnapped as an infant and placed for international adoption by the agency. The court has also asked the police to check their records on whether they have a complaint filed about an abandoned baby, who was taken in by the Aashram.

“If an abandoned child was found outside the Aashram, there must have been some police report. If not abandoned, then someone gave the child up and so the Aashram must have the records,” said Khanwilkar.

Dinesh Adsule, additional public prosecutor, who is representing the state, which is one of the respondents, said officials have visited the Aashram but not found any records.

Daksha was adopted by Johan Van Dijck in 1975 through Hague-based Wereldkinderen, a Dutch adoption agency. Her advocates, Pradeep Havnur and Shabana Ansari, said after her first visit to India in 2001, she tried to search for her biological parents through the Dutch agency. However, its file “did not have any details about her biological parent(s), nor any kind of abandonment declaration, nor a relinquishment document.”

Daksha returned to India in 2007 with her husband and approached Shraddhanand Mahilashram, which did not co-operate with her or with Wereldkinderen, after which they lodged a complaint at Matunga police station, Ansari said.

Organizations: ACT CASE DAKSHA

Wanted: Special families for special children from China

Wanted: Special families for special children from China
By Ella Johnson
Posted August 22, 2010 at 11:48 p.m.

A local nonprogit has a chance to change the life of 40 special children
Families Thru International Adoption is facing a daunting task that could change the lives of 40 special-needs children from China.

Adoptions
- For more information on adopting a special-needs child from China, call Families Thru International Adoption at (812) 479-9900 or toll free (888) 797-9900.

- To watch video clips of the 37 Chinese children still up for adoption, visit www.ftia.org and click on the Journey of Hope icon.

The nonprofit child placement organization, headquartered in Evansville, has one year to find families in the United States willing to open their homes to children with medical and physical disabilities.

Betty Betz, the international adoption group's coordinator for the China program, said the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs invited the organization to participate in the pilot program Journey of Hope.

Betz and Families Thru International Adoption Director of Social Work Services Cindy Scheller traveled to China last month with two doctors, including Dr. Julie Keck, medical director of the International Adoption Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children, to meet the children and prepare medical assessments.

"Typically when a family is considering a special-needs child, all they have is the medical report and some pictures from China," said Betz, the adoptive mother of 13-year-old Sela from China. Betz said the Journey of Hope program allows Families Thru International Adoption to provide interested families with first-hand information about the children.

"They can talk to us and we can say, 'Yes, I've seen that child. This is what his personality is like,' Betz said. "By having a physician who has examined the child as well makes a big difference in the physician being able to give their opinion on the child's medical condition."

The Families Thru International Adoption team spent two days in Jiangsu province at an orphanage in the city of Nantong getting to know the children and learning more about their limitations. The children range in age from 3 to 12. Their medical issues varied from cleft palates and cleft lips to clubfoot, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, heart disease and developmental delays.

"It's so much different looking at a child in person and trying to get a handle on how they are doing as opposed to looking at a child on paper," said Keck, a pediatrician specialized in neurodevelopment disabilities.

"What I am hoping is that the families get a more thorough understanding of how the child is doing now, what we think the future medical issues are that may need to be evaluated once the child is home and a better look at how we think that child is doing developmentally and cognitively," Keck said.

Scheller said parents interested in special-needs adoptions should not have preconceived expectations for the child.

"It's important for families to be prepared and understand the adoption-related issues and the medical needs of the child they are interested in. When they have set expectation, the adoption may not be as successful," she said.

The International Adoption Clinic at Riley offers a program for parents and children to help children ease into their new family structure.

"That's really designed to teach children what it is to have loving parents and to belong to a family, if that has been a new experience for them," Keck said. "Some children don't quite know what to do with themselves when they're in a family, if they have lived all of their life in an institution."

Betz and Scheller said all of the children they met were excited about the possibility of living with an adoptive family in America. Some sang songs and performed in groups or individually in hopes of making a good impression on their visitors.

Scheller said during a practice performance an older boy reminded a younger boy to smile and do his best.

"They almost felt like they had to prove to us that they were worthy of a family," Scheller said. "It's heart-wrenching to think that a child has to try to prove they deserve a family."

One little girl asked Scheller what she was going to do for her when the Families Thru International Adoption team returned the United States. Scheller explained she would try to find the child a home.

"She said, 'How are you going to reach me? I don't have a cell phone.' She said, 'I knew I should have gotten a cell phone,'" Scheller said. "These kids are sitting there wondering, 'Is today going to be the day somebody calls and says I was chosen?'"

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Organizations: Families Thru International Adoption

Countries: China