Heat on Adoption centre

Heat on Adoption centre
By: Kaumudi Gurjar Date: 2010-06-18 Place: Pune

Preetmandir's licence cancelled, Kalyani Nagar centre's kids rehabilitated after high court voices concern
A DAY after the Bombay High Court expressed concern over the welfare of the 450 children at the well-known Preetmandir adoption home, Commissioner of the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department cancelled the intra-country adoption licence of the institution.

"An order to transfer the 109 children at the Kalyani Nagar centre of Preetmandir to different institutions was issued," said Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member Jaywant Sarode. "According to the orders, 29 children will be sent to Sofosh, 23 to Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra, 14 to Mahila Seva Gram Sanstha in Karve Nagar, and seven to the Shivaji Nagar Observation Home. One child was transferred to the Girls' Observation Home in Nana Peth."

Serious lapses
Sarode said at least six children with mental and physical disabilities were found at the adoption centre, and serious procedural lapses on the part of adoption centre were found concerning these children.

The licence of Preetmandir for international adoption was cancelled some time ago by the Central Adoption Resources Agency.

Now the intra-country licence has also been cancelled, on the orders of Commissoner of WCD Bajirao Jadhav.
Jadhav asked CWC members to take custody of children at Preetmandir excluding those who are in the process of adoption. Jadhav confirmed the cancellation of licence was done on Wednesday.

Organizations: Preet Mandir, ACT CASE Preet Mandir

Countries: India

MEDIA: Sierra Leone Parents Seek Answers In Adoption Case

Saturday, June 5, 2010

MEDIA: Sierra Leone Parents Seek Answers In Adoption Case

PEAR has been contacted by a family who believes that their adopted child is one of the children in this article. The family is exploring options for contact with the child's family. If you believe that your adopted child may also be one of the children and would like to contact this family, please let us know and we will put you in touch.

Sierra Leone Parents Seek Children Adopted By Americans In Late 1990s, Saying No Consent Given

(AP) FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) - Balia Kamara's mother sent her to a center in northern Sierra Leone so the 5-year-old could receive an education and food, and stay out of harm's way during the West African country's brutal civil war.

The mother visited Balia at the Help A Needy Child International center, known as HANCI, regularly for two years until 1998, when the children there were taken to Sierra Leone's capital for medical examinations. They never returned.

Parents of about 30 children at the center say they only later learned that the children had been adopted by Americans and sent abroad without permission.

"We were reluctant to hand over the child," recalled Balia's mother, Mariama Jabbie, in an interview with The Associated Press. "When they told us that they were going to educate her up to college level, we decided to hand her over. That was how they were able to entice us to do so."
In 2004, the center's director and two of his employees were arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate adoption laws. Those charges against them though ultimately were dropped and the case disbanded, according to court records.

Now more than a decade after the children disappeared, Sierra Leone's government said late Wednesday it is setting up a national commission of inquiry to re-examine the case of the HANCI children following years of pressure from their biological parents.

The American agency that facilitated the children's adoptions maintains it has no knowledge of any wrongdoing on the part of their staff in the West African nation.

Last month, the children's biological parents stormed the office of Sierra Leone's social welfare minister, demanding the government help them find a way to communicate with their children. A spokesman for the parents, Kassim Kargbo, said they had traveled from villages in the north nearly 100 miles from the capital.

The parents also published an open letter to President Ernest Bai Koroma in a local newspaper. They asked Sierra Leone's government to reopen the case against those who ran the HANCI center where the children were staying.

Sierra Leone is not the only country where there has been controversy over whether parents have given sufficient consent for adoptions. Guatemala suspended international adoptions for nearly two years after the discovery that some babies were being sold.

In Argentina, the government confirmed that hundreds of children were taken from dissidents and raised by military families or others that supported the ruling military junta in the 1970s and early 1980s. El Salvador has worked to reunite children who were also separated from their families during that country's civil war and adopted by foreign families.

The HANCI adoption case in Sierra Leone began amid the country's devastating decade-long war that ended in 2002, a conflict dramatized in the film "Blood Diamond."

Rebels burned villages, raped women and turned kidnapped children into drugged teenage fi ghters.Tensofthousandsofciviliansdiedandcountlessotherswereleftmutilatedafterrebels cut off body parts with machetes. The U.S. State Department says 134 children were adopted between 1999 and 2003, the year after the war ended.

Abu Bakarr, who is now the coordinator for the birth parents of the adopted children, said that the HANCI center in Makeni refused to return the children to their parents in 1998. Those who ran HANCI said reducing the number of children at the center would affect its funding, Bakarr said.

HANCI ultimately contacted Maine Adoption Placement Services (MAPS) to foster U.S. adoptions, and MAPS says it placed 29 of the 33 children from the home with adoptive parents in the U.S. HANCI maintains the parents gave informed consent. It said the agreements also were taken to Makeni's magistrate court for clearance

"It was made clear to the parents that all the children kept at the center were for adoption," HANCI said in a statement released late last year. "Each parent completed and signed a document to the effect."

When reached by The Associated Press, Maine Adoption Placement Services' chief executive officer said she stood by earlier statements about the case.

"MAPS has no knowledge of any wrongdoing on the part of our Sierra Leone staff and are cooperating fully with the investigation," Stephanie Mitchell said.

The legal process for the adoptions was approved at the time by Sierra Leone's government, as well as by the U.S. State Department, she said. "We've heard nothing officially from anyone from Sierra Leone for years," she added.

But the children's birth parents say that adoption was never mentioned, nor was a trip out of the country. For years they never knew what had become of the children and feared they may have been killed during the war. Not until 2004 did they learn they were adopted by Americans, Bakarr said.

"I only thumb-printed the form to the effect that the center was going to take care of my two children," said Pa Brima Kargbo, whose 6-year-old daughter Adama and 3-year-old son Mustapha were placed at the center. "Now we want to see our children whether they are dead or alive, even if it is for two days."

Chuck Johnson, the acting CEO of the National Council for Adoption, said Sierra Leone requires annual post-adoption reports until the child reaches the age of 18.

Mitchell said MAPS has been diligent in sending annual post-placement reports, along with photos of the adopted kids, to authorities in Sierra Leone as required.

"We can produce copies of those," she said. "We've been very rigorous."

While Sierra Leone is opening a national commission of inquiry, it is highly unlikely to bring the closure the birth parents are seeking. Mitchell said if the government requests contact be established between the adoptive families and birth families: "I think they would have the right to say no."

Johnson doubts the U.S. would try to enforce anything beyond the post-adoption report requirement.

"It would be up to the agency to try and convince adoptive families to do more than initially required of them," he said.

It's been nearly 15 years since Sulaiman Suma last saw his 4-year-old daughter Mabinty and 3-year-old son Sulaiman. Both are now young adults believed to be living in the United States.
"We want our children who were sold to these white people," Suma said. "We want to know whether they are alive or dead."
___
Carley Petesch reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press Writer David Crary in New York contributed to this report.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/03/ap/africa/main6544354.shtml

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

Countries: United States of America, Sierra Leone

S.Leone police investigate child trafficking allegations

AFP Global Edition | 2009-12-29 19:10:27

Police in Sierra Leone on Tuesday said they had released on bail four members of a US-based non governmental organisation after questioning them in connection with a child trafficking scandal.

Backed by Interpol, Sierra Leone police are investigating claims by 40 parents in the west African state that their children were trafficked to the United States 13 years ago from the northern city of Makeni.

Assistant Inspector-general of Police Francis Munu, who is heading the probe in conjunction with officials of Interpol, told journalists Tuesday; "We have quizzed, and detained for a number of hours but later released on bail four senior workers of the organisation Help a Needy Child International (Hanci)".

He did not identify the officials.

"We are treating the investigation at an extremely high level," Munu said. "We have obtained statements from most of the affected parents and are making contacts with the necessary government agencies that were reported to have carried out adoption process."

A parent of one of the adopted children who asked not to be identified said, "I handed my daughter, who was then 10 years old, to the organisation for care purposes, but have not been told the fate of her since then."

"The organisation promised to educate her up to university level in Sierra Leone as she had become disadvantaged as a result of the rebel war in the country," he said.

Hanci denied that the children were trafficked. A senior executive of the organisation, Dr Roland Kargbo, said, "The children were flown to the US with the consent of their parents."

But the parents refuted this statement.

"One of the objectives of the investigations is to see how we can establish communication with any of the adoptive parents or the adopted children and this is why we have the collaborative help from Interpol," police official Munu said.

"Although it is a bit critical as some of the people who are alleged to have played vital functions are difficult to trace as well as some important documents, we should be able to end our probe in four weeks time and send the file to the Law Officers Department for legal advice," he added.

Sierra Leone's Social Welfare and Children's Affairs Minister Soccoh Kabia said, "we are fully supporting the police investigations".

Kabia disclosed that he has "ordered the immediate suspension of all activities regarding adoption" and will "propose amendments to the country's adoption laws which will make it mandatory for people wanting to adopt a Sierra Leonean child to be resident in the country for six months before the request is considered."

S.Leone police investigate child trafficking allegations

AFP Global Edition | 2009-12-29 19:10:27

Police in Sierra Leone on Tuesday said they had released on bail four members of a US-based non governmental organisation after questioning them in connection with a child trafficking scandal.

Backed by Interpol, Sierra Leone police are investigating claims by 40 parents in the west African state that their children were trafficked to the United States 13 years ago from the northern city of Makeni.

Assistant Inspector-general of Police Francis Munu, who is heading the probe in conjunction with officials of Interpol, told journalists Tuesday; "We have quizzed, and detained for a number of hours but later released on bail four senior workers of the organisation Help a Needy Child International (Hanci)".

He did not identify the officials.

"We are treating the investigation at an extremely high level," Munu said. "We have obtained statements from most of the affected parents and are making contacts with the necessary government agencies that were reported to have carried out adoption process."

A parent of one of the adopted children who asked not to be identified said, "I handed my daughter, who was then 10 years old, to the organisation for care purposes, but have not been told the fate of her since then."

"The organisation promised to educate her up to university level in Sierra Leone as she had become disadvantaged as a result of the rebel war in the country," he said.

Hanci denied that the children were trafficked. A senior executive of the organisation, Dr Roland Kargbo, said, "The children were flown to the US with the consent of their parents."

But the parents refuted this statement.

"One of the objectives of the investigations is to see how we can establish communication with any of the adoptive parents or the adopted children and this is why we have the collaborative help from Interpol," police official Munu said.

"Although it is a bit critical as some of the people who are alleged to have played vital functions are difficult to trace as well as some important documents, we should be able to end our probe in four weeks time and send the file to the Law Officers Department for legal advice," he added.

Sierra Leone's Social Welfare and Children's Affairs Minister Soccoh Kabia said, "we are fully supporting the police investigations".

Kabia disclosed that he has "ordered the immediate suspension of all activities regarding adoption" and will "propose amendments to the country's adoption laws which will make it mandatory for people wanting to adopt a Sierra Leonean child to be resident in the country for six months before the request is considered."

S.Leone police investigate child trafficking allegations

AFP Global Edition | 2009-12-29 19:10:27

Police in Sierra Leone on Tuesday said they had released on bail four members of a US-based non governmental organisation after questioning them in connection with a child trafficking scandal.

Backed by Interpol, Sierra Leone police are investigating claims by 40 parents in the west African state that their children were trafficked to the United States 13 years ago from the northern city of Makeni.

Assistant Inspector-general of Police Francis Munu, who is heading the probe in conjunction with officials of Interpol, told journalists Tuesday; "We have quizzed, and detained for a number of hours but later released on bail four senior workers of the organisation Help a Needy Child International (Hanci)".

He did not identify the officials.

"We are treating the investigation at an extremely high level," Munu said. "We have obtained statements from most of the affected parents and are making contacts with the necessary government agencies that were reported to have carried out adoption process."

A parent of one of the adopted children who asked not to be identified said, "I handed my daughter, who was then 10 years old, to the organisation for care purposes, but have not been told the fate of her since then."

"The organisation promised to educate her up to university level in Sierra Leone as she had become disadvantaged as a result of the rebel war in the country," he said.

Hanci denied that the children were trafficked. A senior executive of the organisation, Dr Roland Kargbo, said, "The children were flown to the US with the consent of their parents."

But the parents refuted this statement.

"One of the objectives of the investigations is to see how we can establish communication with any of the adoptive parents or the adopted children and this is why we have the collaborative help from Interpol," police official Munu said.

"Although it is a bit critical as some of the people who are alleged to have played vital functions are difficult to trace as well as some important documents, we should be able to end our probe in four weeks time and send the file to the Law Officers Department for legal advice," he added.

Sierra Leone's Social Welfare and Children's Affairs Minister Soccoh Kabia said, "we are fully supporting the police investigations".

Kabia disclosed that he has "ordered the immediate suspension of all activities regarding adoption" and will "propose amendments to the country's adoption laws which will make it mandatory for people wanting to adopt a Sierra Leonean child to be resident in the country for six months before the request is considered."

S.Leone police investigate child trafficking allegations

AFP Global Edition | 2009-12-29 19:10:27

Police in Sierra Leone on Tuesday said they had released on bail four members of a US-based non governmental organisation after questioning them in connection with a child trafficking scandal.

Backed by Interpol, Sierra Leone police are investigating claims by 40 parents in the west African state that their children were trafficked to the United States 13 years ago from the northern city of Makeni.

Assistant Inspector-general of Police Francis Munu, who is heading the probe in conjunction with officials of Interpol, told journalists Tuesday; "We have quizzed, and detained for a number of hours but later released on bail four senior workers of the organisation Help a Needy Child International (Hanci)".

He did not identify the officials.

"We are treating the investigation at an extremely high level," Munu said. "We have obtained statements from most of the affected parents and are making contacts with the necessary government agencies that were reported to have carried out adoption process."

A parent of one of the adopted children who asked not to be identified said, "I handed my daughter, who was then 10 years old, to the organisation for care purposes, but have not been told the fate of her since then."

"The organisation promised to educate her up to university level in Sierra Leone as she had become disadvantaged as a result of the rebel war in the country," he said.

Hanci denied that the children were trafficked. A senior executive of the organisation, Dr Roland Kargbo, said, "The children were flown to the US with the consent of their parents."

But the parents refuted this statement.

"One of the objectives of the investigations is to see how we can establish communication with any of the adoptive parents or the adopted children and this is why we have the collaborative help from Interpol," police official Munu said.

"Although it is a bit critical as some of the people who are alleged to have played vital functions are difficult to trace as well as some important documents, we should be able to end our probe in four weeks time and send the file to the Law Officers Department for legal advice," he added.

Sierra Leone's Social Welfare and Children's Affairs Minister Soccoh Kabia said, "we are fully supporting the police investigations".

Kabia disclosed that he has "ordered the immediate suspension of all activities regarding adoption" and will "propose amendments to the country's adoption laws which will make it mandatory for people wanting to adopt a Sierra Leonean child to be resident in the country for six months before the request is considered."

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?oe=UTF-8&q=cache%3AHtMMxGwP02sJ%3Awww.domesticsecuritypolicyinfo.com%2Farticle%2FS.Leone%2520police%2520investigate%2520child%2520trafficking%2520allegations

Countries: Sierra Leone, United States of America

Organizations: MAPS (Maine Adoption Placement Services), Help a Needy Child International (HANCI)

Child Trafficking: HANCI Boss Confesses

Page added on November 12, 2009

Child Trafficking: HANCI Boss Confesses

Author: Donstance Koroma - SEM

Dr. Roland Kargbo, executive director of the controversial Help A Needy Child International (HANCI) organization has, after being grilled by human right activist Emmanuel Hindowa Saidu of Foundation for Democratic Initiative and Development confessed he engaged in child trafficking and blamed former Attorney General Tom Carew whom he said did not ensure that the biological parents were informed prior to the children being taken abroad.

In a more radical approach to human right issues in Sierra Leone, Mr. Saidu yesterday met with Dr. Roland Kargbo to further investigate claims that children from Makeni have been sold to childless couples abroad by his organization.

Following the meeting which took place yesterday, Sierra Express Media was informed about the outcome. According to information gathered, Dr Roland Kargbo agreed that he had indeed engaged in sending kids abroad for adoption to childless couples wanting children. The HANCI boss had also informed the human right activist that the issue of adoption started back in 1996 during the height of the war when one of his British partners had helped him establish an orphanage in Makeni, but had advised him to look for another partner to take up the running cost.

Kargbo said that after numerous searches he was able to contact an adoption agency in the United States known as the Maine Adoption Placement Services, MAPS, which he said expressed an interest in seeking families in the US ready to adopt the kids through an “inter country adoption and orphanage programme.”

Dr. Kargbo confessed that he had indeed sent 23 children to the United States for adoption but failed to mention if the parents were informed about the nature of this type of adoption. He however said as a form of apology that all the people who adopted the children are whites and therefore when the kids grow up they will realize that their foster parents are whites and will therefore ask to know their biological parents. “In the long run these children will notice the difference in complexion and will ask questions about there origin,” he said.

He stated that before the children were taken off to the United States, a hastily convened supervision court order was provided by the Magistrate Court in Makeni after the adoption agreement was read in the presence of the parents whom he said were asked whether or not they were willing to give their children to foster parents.

It is upon this consent that the then Attorney General Tom Crew signed a release letter handing over the children to HANCI with full authority to take them anywhere they please, Dr. Kargbo said.

However, having realizing that the idea of just reading an agreement in English to a mostly illiterate assembly of parents shows there was some dubious deal involved, Dr Roland said. He further regretted why the then Attorney General did not call on the biological parent of these children in informing them that all enquires about their children should be done at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs as stated in the agreement.

Responding to Mr. Hindowa Saidu’s question as to how far HANCI has done in clearing his organization’s credibility, he stated that he has written to the Ministry of Social Welfare two weeks ago for their intervention but to no avail as there has not been any answer from them or even an acknowledgment in receipt of the letter.

The HANCI boss further noted that year in year out the foster parents of the children send parcels to the Social Welfare Ministry, with a recent photo of children attached, but that neither the parcels nor the pictures ever meet the biological parents.

Meanwhile, Mr. Saidu in an exclusive interview revealed that investigations so far conducted expose HANCI as having corruptly manipulated the biological parents who are all illiterates in understanding that it is not an adoption program but rather a child care unit and that all the kids will be residing in Makeni in the home established by HANCI.

One of the aggrieved parents has meanwhile stated that Dr. Kargbo should be in jail as that is the only way he will speak the truth. “We were fooled into handing our children to him and he is now telling us that because it is white men and women to whom our children were sold, they will grow up and ask for us, but in case these white people lie to the children that all their parents died in the war, what will HANCI do?” he queried angrily.

The parents have meanwhile vowed to continue the matter and they will seek the services of an international lawyer to make a fresh case in the law courts. “Dr. Kargbo is a child seller who is not fit to be in civilized society but should instead be among criminals in the Pademba Road where he rightly belongs,” one parent informed Sierra Express Media.

Dr. Kargbo is yet to be seen as he is reported to be hiding from the aggrieved parents.

http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/2669

Organizations: Help a Needy Child International (HANCI), MAPS (Maine Adoption Placement Services)

Countries: United States of America, Sierra Leone

Pastors focus on missions, adoption

Posted on Jun 15, 2010 | by Staff

ORLANDO (BP)--Under the banner of "Greater Things," speakers during the June 14 afternoon and evening sessions of the 2010 Pastors' Conference -- held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. -- focused on the Great Commission and the launch of a national campaign to help pastors adopt children.

'A LONG-DISTANCE RACE'

Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., urged the assembly to fix their eyes on Jesus and follow His example. He used the example of a marathon, echoing the author of Hebrews, to teach on the necessity of focus and endurance to finish the life of faith.

Teaching from the text of Hebrews 12:1-3, Akin said, "The Christian life is not the life of a sprinter, but a long-distance race requiring steadfastness and endurance."

The text teaches believers to find encouragement as they run the race, to focus on the essentials as they run the race and to follow the example of Christ Jesus as they run, Akin said.

Southern Baptists are called to increase the great cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews 12:1, Akin said.

"I believe God calls us to add to this great hall of faith," Akin said. "I believe what we're doing as Southern Baptists, focusing on the Great Commission, is about adding to the hall of faith people of every tribe, tongue and nation, that we might be about expanding the business of God and growing this great hall of faith."

Receiving encouragement from other believers, however, is not enough to enable believers to run the race well, Akin said. They also must focus on the essentials, ridding themselves of encumbrances and running confidently and with endurance.

Most importantly, Akin said believers must follow Jesus, who "for the joy set before him, endured the cross."

"The race is not over and the finish line has not been crossed," Akin said. "We must guide our people to fix their eyes on Jesus and to run with endurance and without hindrance that race God has put before us -– that is, adding to the great hall of faith people of every tribe and every tongue, for the glory of King Jesus."

FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERING

Francis Chan, author of "Crazy Love" and former pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., shared his desire for a deeper experience in his walk with Christ.

He confessed that he missed those days when he just read the Bible, just spoke to God and just looked people in the eye and shared with them about Jesus.

"I am losing some of this intimacy and I don't want to," said Chan, adding, "I don't want to be Francis Chan, the guy who wrote, 'Crazy Love.'... I actually want everything of Jesus, even the suffering."

Chan, who recently left his pastorate to pursue a deeper intimacy with Christ, shared about 23 Korean missionaries who were imprisoned by the Taliban. Facing death, the Koreans experienced a deep level of intimacy with Jesus. After their release, those who survived confessed they wished they could go back.

This type of fellowship is only found in the midst of suffering, Chan said. Even the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3, longed to know the power of Christ's suffering and resurrection, he noted.

"I just want to go back to that simplicity of following Christ. I just want to experience His power," Chan said.

CONVERSION NECESSARY

No matter how orthodox one's theology or how favorable his opinion of Jesus, unless one is converted from a self-centered life of sin to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, he will not receive salvation, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Addressing the imperative, mystery and theology of conversion, Mohler cited the story of Nicodemus in John 3 to demonstrate the centrality of conversion in Scripture.

"We come to understand that conversion is so central to our theology that it must be in every sermon," Mohler said. "It must be in every church. It must be always the confession of the church, that we are not the ones born merely, but twice born by the promise and power of God and by the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Mohler noted that while Jesus had many conversations with theological liberals, Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, was a world-class conservative. Although Nicodemus was positively disposed to Jesus, he quickly learned that was not sufficient to be saved, Mohler said.

"I want you to notice something about the New Testament: Jesus turns out not to be favorably disposed toward those who are favorably disposed to Him," he said. "Being favorably disposed to Jesus is simply not enough."

OBLIGATED TO SACRIFICE

David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., shared four reasons he believes why Southern Baptists are obligated to sacrifice their lives, churches and convention for the 6,000-plus people groups who have yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Every unreached person on this planet has knowledge of God ... even if they haven't heard the Gospel, they have seen His nature," Platt said, focusing on Romans 1:18, which says God reveals Himself so people are without excuse for refusing to acknowledge Him as God and give thanks.

Platt posed the often-asked question about the innocent guy in Africa who had not heard the Gospel: Would he make it to heaven? "My confident answer to you, based on the authority of God's Word, would be, 'I believe he will undoubtedly go to heaven,'" Platt said. "The problem is that this guy does not exist! If he were innocent, he would have no need for heaven. There are guilty people all over Asia and Africa, and they need the Gospel.

"If people go to heaven precisely because they never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, then the worst thing we could do for their eternal state would be to go them and tell them about Jesus," Platt said.

God's plans warrant the sacrifices of His people, Platt added.

Noting the progression of the proliferation of the Gospel in Romans 10:12, Platt said people will be saved when Christians share the Good News. In Revelation, multitudes from every tribe, nation, people and tongue are seen worshipping Jesus -- even from the hardest people group on this planet. "That's confidence worth risking one's life for!" Platt said.

"It will take sacrifice" for 40,000-plus Southern Baptist churches, six seminaries, 1,200 associations and 41 state conventions to come together to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, Platt said. "We would have to throw aside our Christian spin on the American Dream," he said.

CARING FOR THE FATHERLESS

The program also featured the launch of a national campaign to help pastors adopt children (www.sbcadoption.com). Ezell, who initiated the fund, hopes to raise a $1.5 million endowment in order to match the first $2,000 a pastor raises to adopt a child. Pastors' Conference attendees gave a $26,000 offering toward the fund.

The first adoption grant was awarded during the June 14 afternoon session. Buff and Cissy McNickle, a Florida couple who adopted twin boys, appeared on stage. Buff is a minister at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Fla.

"Adoption is not God's Plan B ever. Adoption is always God's Plan A, if that's what He's called the family to," Cissy McNickle said during a short video that told their adoption story.

Ezell, whose three adopted children are from China, Ethiopia and the Philippines, also presented the McNickles with an unexpected $10,000 check from the ministry partners who sponsored this year's conference. The money will be used to offset the cost of adopting the twins.

An African choir, the Watoto Children's Choir, helped bring awareness to the overwhelming number of orphaned children and vulnerable women in Uganda, whose lives have been ravaged by war and disease.

Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and vice president for academic administration at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called attendees to view adoption and orphan care not as a charitable effort, but as an extension of the Gospel characterizing churches that are serious about the mission of God.

Preaching from Romans 8:12-23, Moore said God's adoption of spiritual orphans should be a life-shaping reality.

"God has said to us that every single one of us was isolated and alone and spiritually fatherless and we have a Father who rescued us from that and a Father who has given us a Gospel that is enough to say 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved,'" Moore said. "If we believe that and if we have received that then we should picture and show that, including to the fatherless children of the world."

Moore -– who has adopted two boys from Russia -– said the freedom believers have in Christ should cause them to groan for the lost in the world, including orphans.

"[The Apostle] Paul says 'do you see the freedom here, do you see the promise of what you have waiting in glory?'" Moore said. "He says that, because of the glory that is to be revealed we groan, and we groan for the world, with the world. Paul is inviting Christians who have already received the Gospel ... to receive others as they have been received.

"Adoption and orphan care is not charity; adoption and orphan care is not another denominational program," Moore said. "Adoption and orphan care is spiritual warfare, because adoption and orphan care is about the Gospel and about mission."

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHURCH

The Southern Baptist Convention membership is shrinking and aging, but there is hope for churches to change and engage in transformational ministry, said Ed Stetzer, research director of LifeWay Christian Resources.

At the request of the Pastors' Conference leadership, Stetzer presented data from LifeWay's Transformational Church research project.

In late 2008, LifeWay Research began gathering data that would form the basis for the Transformational Church initiative. Several rounds of quantitative and qualitative data-gathering from 7,000 Protestant churches revealed seven key elements commonly found in transformational churches.

"The discovery of everyday churches transforming lives gives us hope because they are on a mission we can all join," Stetzer said. "And, make no mistake, it is critically important that we join."

Stetzer presented research on two areas where Southern Baptists have expressed widespread concern: conversions and attendance. Although several elements of the Transformational Church process proved to be statistically correlated with higher conversions and attendance, Stetzer focused on "vibrant leadership," saying, "You are the leaders, and you have to equip and model for our churches -– but you cannot lead what you do not live."

Stetzer explained that the data are encouraging in that they show a connection between successful church ministry and the outcomes that could alter trends of decline in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Also during the Pastors' Conference:

-- Michael Catt, pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., the makers of "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants" promoted the church's next movie, "Courageous."

The movie will tell the story of four police officers and their journey to be better fathers, Catt said. It will show the consequences of fatherless homes and what a home with a God-fearing father can look like.

-- Officers were elected for 2011: Vance Pitman, president, senior pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas; Dean Fulks, first vice president, lead pastor of Life Point Church in Columbus, Ohio; and Mike Holcomb, senior pastor of Iron City Baptist Church in Anniston, Ala., treasurer.
--30--
Compiled by Shannon Baker with additional reporting from Lauren Vanderburg, Garrett E. Wishall, Micah Carter and Brooklyn Noel Lowery.

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Posted on Jun 15, 2010 | by Staff

ORLANDO (BP)--Under the banner of "Greater Things," speakers during the June 14 afternoon and evening sessions of the 2010 Pastors' Conference -- held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. -- focused on the Great Commission and the launch of a national campaign to help pastors adopt children.

'A LONG-DISTANCE RACE'

Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., urged the assembly to fix their eyes on Jesus and follow His example. He used the example of a marathon, echoing the author of Hebrews, to teach on the necessity of focus and endurance to finish the life of faith.

Teaching from the text of Hebrews 12:1-3, Akin said, "The Christian life is not the life of a sprinter, but a long-distance race requiring steadfastness and endurance."

The text teaches believers to find encouragement as they run the race, to focus on the essentials as they run the race and to follow the example of Christ Jesus as they run, Akin said.

Southern Baptists are called to increase the great cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews 12:1, Akin said.

"I believe God calls us to add to this great hall of faith," Akin said. "I believe what we're doing as Southern Baptists, focusing on the Great Commission, is about adding to the hall of faith people of every tribe, tongue and nation, that we might be about expanding the business of God and growing this great hall of faith."

Receiving encouragement from other believers, however, is not enough to enable believers to run the race well, Akin said. They also must focus on the essentials, ridding themselves of encumbrances and running confidently and with endurance.

Most importantly, Akin said believers must follow Jesus, who "for the joy set before him, endured the cross."

"The race is not over and the finish line has not been crossed," Akin said. "We must guide our people to fix their eyes on Jesus and to run with endurance and without hindrance that race God has put before us -– that is, adding to the great hall of faith people of every tribe and every tongue, for the glory of King Jesus."

FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERING

Francis Chan, author of "Crazy Love" and former pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., shared his desire for a deeper experience in his walk with Christ.

He confessed that he missed those days when he just read the Bible, just spoke to God and just looked people in the eye and shared with them about Jesus.

"I am losing some of this intimacy and I don't want to," said Chan, adding, "I don't want to be Francis Chan, the guy who wrote, 'Crazy Love.'... I actually want everything of Jesus, even the suffering."

Chan, who recently left his pastorate to pursue a deeper intimacy with Christ, shared about 23 Korean missionaries who were imprisoned by the Taliban. Facing death, the Koreans experienced a deep level of intimacy with Jesus. After their release, those who survived confessed they wished they could go back.

This type of fellowship is only found in the midst of suffering, Chan said. Even the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3, longed to know the power of Christ's suffering and resurrection, he noted.

"I just want to go back to that simplicity of following Christ. I just want to experience His power," Chan said.

CONVERSION NECESSARY

No matter how orthodox one's theology or how favorable his opinion of Jesus, unless one is converted from a self-centered life of sin to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, he will not receive salvation, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Addressing the imperative, mystery and theology of conversion, Mohler cited the story of Nicodemus in John 3 to demonstrate the centrality of conversion in Scripture.

"We come to understand that conversion is so central to our theology that it must be in every sermon," Mohler said. "It must be in every church. It must be always the confession of the church, that we are not the ones born merely, but twice born by the promise and power of God and by the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Mohler noted that while Jesus had many conversations with theological liberals, Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, was a world-class conservative. Although Nicodemus was positively disposed to Jesus, he quickly learned that was not sufficient to be saved, Mohler said.

"I want you to notice something about the New Testament: Jesus turns out not to be favorably disposed toward those who are favorably disposed to Him," he said. "Being favorably disposed to Jesus is simply not enough."

OBLIGATED TO SACRIFICE

David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., shared four reasons he believes why Southern Baptists are obligated to sacrifice their lives, churches and convention for the 6,000-plus people groups who have yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Every unreached person on this planet has knowledge of God ... even if they haven't heard the Gospel, they have seen His nature," Platt said, focusing on Romans 1:18, which says God reveals Himself so people are without excuse for refusing to acknowledge Him as God and give thanks.

Platt posed the often-asked question about the innocent guy in Africa who had not heard the Gospel: Would he make it to heaven? "My confident answer to you, based on the authority of God's Word, would be, 'I believe he will undoubtedly go to heaven,'" Platt said. "The problem is that this guy does not exist! If he were innocent, he would have no need for heaven. There are guilty people all over Asia and Africa, and they need the Gospel.

"If people go to heaven precisely because they never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, then the worst thing we could do for their eternal state would be to go them and tell them about Jesus," Platt said.

God's plans warrant the sacrifices of His people, Platt added.

Noting the progression of the proliferation of the Gospel in Romans 10:12, Platt said people will be saved when Christians share the Good News. In Revelation, multitudes from every tribe, nation, people and tongue are seen worshipping Jesus -- even from the hardest people group on this planet. "That's confidence worth risking one's life for!" Platt said.

"It will take sacrifice" for 40,000-plus Southern Baptist churches, six seminaries, 1,200 associations and 41 state conventions to come together to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, Platt said. "We would have to throw aside our Christian spin on the American Dream," he said.

CARING FOR THE FATHERLESS

The program also featured the launch of a national campaign to help pastors adopt children (www.sbcadoption.com). Ezell, who initiated the fund, hopes to raise a $1.5 million endowment in order to match the first $2,000 a pastor raises to adopt a child. Pastors' Conference attendees gave a $26,000 offering toward the fund.

The first adoption grant was awarded during the June 14 afternoon session. Buff and Cissy McNickle, a Florida couple who adopted twin boys, appeared on stage. Buff is a minister at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Fla.

"Adoption is not God's Plan B ever. Adoption is always God's Plan A, if that's what He's called the family to," Cissy McNickle said during a short video that told their adoption story.

Ezell, whose three adopted children are from China, Ethiopia and the Philippines, also presented the McNickles with an unexpected $10,000 check from the ministry partners who sponsored this year's conference. The money will be used to offset the cost of adopting the twins.

An African choir, the Watoto Children's Choir, helped bring awareness to the overwhelming number of orphaned children and vulnerable women in Uganda, whose lives have been ravaged by war and disease.

Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of theology and vice president for academic administration at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called attendees to view adoption and orphan care not as a charitable effort, but as an extension of the Gospel characterizing churches that are serious about the mission of God.

Preaching from Romans 8:12-23, Moore said God's adoption of spiritual orphans should be a life-shaping reality.

"God has said to us that every single one of us was isolated and alone and spiritually fatherless and we have a Father who rescued us from that and a Father who has given us a Gospel that is enough to say 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved,'" Moore said. "If we believe that and if we have received that then we should picture and show that, including to the fatherless children of the world."

Moore -– who has adopted two boys from Russia -– said the freedom believers have in Christ should cause them to groan for the lost in the world, including orphans.

"[The Apostle] Paul says 'do you see the freedom here, do you see the promise of what you have waiting in glory?'" Moore said. "He says that, because of the glory that is to be revealed we groan, and we groan for the world, with the world. Paul is inviting Christians who have already received the Gospel ... to receive others as they have been received.

"Adoption and orphan care is not charity; adoption and orphan care is not another denominational program," Moore said. "Adoption and orphan care is spiritual warfare, because adoption and orphan care is about the Gospel and about mission."

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHURCH

The Southern Baptist Convention membership is shrinking and aging, but there is hope for churches to change and engage in transformational ministry, said Ed Stetzer, research director of LifeWay Christian Resources.

At the request of the Pastors' Conference leadership, Stetzer presented data from LifeWay's Transformational Church research project.

In late 2008, LifeWay Research began gathering data that would form the basis for the Transformational Church initiative. Several rounds of quantitative and qualitative data-gathering from 7,000 Protestant churches revealed seven key elements commonly found in transformational churches.

"The discovery of everyday churches transforming lives gives us hope because they are on a mission we can all join," Stetzer said. "And, make no mistake, it is critically important that we join."

Stetzer presented research on two areas where Southern Baptists have expressed widespread concern: conversions and attendance. Although several elements of the Transformational Church process proved to be statistically correlated with higher conversions and attendance, Stetzer focused on "vibrant leadership," saying, "You are the leaders, and you have to equip and model for our churches -– but you cannot lead what you do not live."

Stetzer explained that the data are encouraging in that they show a connection between successful church ministry and the outcomes that could alter trends of decline in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Also during the Pastors' Conference:

-- Michael Catt, pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., the makers of "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants" promoted the church's next movie, "Courageous."

The movie will tell the story of four police officers and their journey to be better fathers, Catt said. It will show the consequences of fatherless homes and what a home with a God-fearing father can look like.

-- Officers were elected for 2011: Vance Pitman, president, senior pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas; Dean Fulks, first vice president, lead pastor of Life Point Church in Columbus, Ohio; and Mike Holcomb, senior pastor of Iron City Baptist Church in Anniston, Ala., treasurer.
--30--
Compiled by Shannon Baker with additional reporting from Lauren Vanderburg, Garrett E. Wishall, Micah Carter and Brooklyn Noel Lowery.

Countries: United States of America, Russia, Philippines, China, Ethiopia

The Baby Business

U.S. couples adopting from abroad often think they're helping vulnerable children. The reality is more complex--and poorly regulated.

by E.J. Graff

Countries: United States of America

Organizations: Hague Convention on Protection of Children and International Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993)

Police in Sierra Leone Investigate NGO on Child Trafficking Allegations

Police in Sierra Leone

Four members of a US-based non governmental organisation have been released on bail by the police in Sierra Leone after questioning them in connection with a child trafficking scandal. The police are investigating claims by 40 parents in the northern city of Makeni that their children were trafficked to the United States 13 years ago from the city. Francis Munu, the Assistant Inspector-general of police who is heading the investigations in conjunction with officials of Interpol, told journalists “We have quizzed, and detained for a number of hours but later released on bail four senior workers of the organisation Help a Needy Child International (Hanci)”. No officials names were mentioned but he said “We are treating the investigation at an extremely high level,” Munu said. “We have obtained statements from most of the affected parents and are making contacts with the necessary government agencies that were reported to have carried out adoption process.”

According to the AFP, A parent of one of the adopted children who asked not to be identified said, “I handed my daughter, who was then 10 years old, to the organisation for care purposes, but have not been told the fate of her since then.” “The organisation promised to educate her up to university level in Sierra Leone as she had become disadvantaged as a result of the rebel war in the country,” he said. The NGO group Hanci, has denied that the children were trafficked. A senior executive of the organisation, Dr Roland Kargbo, said, “The children were flown to the US with the consent of their parents.” But the parents strongly denied this.

The police went on to say that one of the objectives of the investigations is to see how they can establish communication with any of the adoptive parents or the adopted children and this is why they have the collaborative help from Interpol. “Although it is a bit critical as some of the people who are alleged to have played vital functions are difficult to trace as well as some important documents, we should be able to end our probe in four weeks time and send the file to the Law Officers Department for legal advice,” the police chief went on to say. Mr Soccoh Kabia, Sierra Leone’s Social Welfare and Children’s Affairs Minister said, that the government is fully supporting the police investigations. The Minister said that he has ordered the immediate suspension of all activities regarding adoption and that he will propose amendments to the country’s adoption laws which will make it mandatory for people wanting to adopt a Sierra Leonean child to be resident in the country for six months before the request is considered.

Countries: Sierra Leone, United States of America

Organizations: MAPS (Maine Adoption Placement Services), Help a Needy Child International (HANCI)

How Our Children 29 Kids Were Trafficked To America!

Written by Peep Reporter

Wednesday, 21 October 2009 00:00

All roads seem to lead back to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs in the strange case of 29 children from Sierra Leone supposedly 'adopted' by U.S agency MAPS (Maine Adoption and Placement Services) in 1997 with the active collaboration of HANCI (Help A Needy Child International - S.L).

HANCI deny any wrongdoing in this affair. In a frantic response to our story published last Friday 'American, Give Us Back Our Trafficked Children', HANCI sent us a copy of an earlier press release (HANCI Director Says Tabloid Report Not True - Torchlight July 6, 2009) published in a local paper and a profile of HANCI's Executive Director, Dr. Roland Foday Kargbo.

Neither of these appeared to answer pertinent questions we raised. Neither did the visit of HANCI's PRO who, basically, read us annotated responses of Dr. Roland Foday Kargbo.

It is true that back in 2004 or so, the Inspector General filed charges against the HANCI Executive Director and two others. INTERPOL, the international police agency, was even brought into the matter.

Although the cases were dismissed in 2005 not because the court found the 'adopted' were 'legal' but for lack of police prosecution - it now appears clear that elements of the Social Welfare Ministry were integral part of a CHILD TRAFFICKING SYNDICATE.

Despite HANCI's strenuous objections they have not been able to produce a SINGLE SCRAP of paper with signatures of 29 poor Sierra Leoneans accepting they had agreed to adoption of their children by families in America. If they indeed had any, they would have produced them by now.

MAPS, the American 'adoption' agents are hiding behind their fingers. They too refuse to disclose any information because of so called 'confidentiality' laws. They ended their 'programme' here in Sierra Leone in 2005. In an e-mail dated August 20, 2008 they claim they 'forwarded all past placement reports and photos on children who were adopted through this programme to the Ministry of Social Welfare'.

As we said earlier, all roads lead back to them… None of the parents whose children HANCI took into their 'Special Child Orphanage' in Makeni in 1997 have received news of their children in the twelve years since then.

They have not signed any documents authorizing adoption of their children. If HANCI, MAPS or anyone else can produce them, we will apologize. From the extensive documentation available for us and background checks on the Net - this seems to have been the case…

In 1997 HANCI opened a Child Survival Centre in Makeni. This centre 'supposedly' was to 'help' educate and maintain children of indigent families who were having difficulties feeding and educating their children.

According to the testimony given by Abubakar Kargbo, his little sister FATIMA (3 years) and brother MUSTAPHA (then 10) were placed in HANCI's care. Let's not forget the circumstances at the time, the AFRC-RUF had just massacred over 6,000 people in Freetown and were and would remain in effective control of Makeni for almost another two years.

Sierra Leoneans normally don't look a Gift Horse in the mouth. Parents rushed to place their children in HANCI's Child Survival Centre. Abubakar said they visited the two children and took sweets to them for several weeks until they 'disappeared'.

At No TIME did HANCI raise the question of adoption.

This is verified by the agreement signed with HANCI which we reproduced here as Document One. The specimen agreement (January 13,2009) basically notes that HANCI has 'admitted' the kids into their Child Survival Centre and notes the names of two 'Social Workers' HENRY ABU and JOHN GBLAA who could be contacted in case of 'enquiries about your ward'.

The document is signed by Dr. Roland F. Kargbo. If these children are missing - 12 years after HANCI accepted them - it is precisely Dr. Roland F. Kargbo who must account for their whereabouts - Pure and Simple.

What was unknown to these poor parents was that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between HANCI and MAPS. Dr. Kargbo, in fact later confessed that MAPS, not HANCI, had opened the Child Survival Centre and employed the two gentlemen Henry Abu and John Gblaa whom HANCI described as its 'social workers'. We quote from MAPS letter to Theresa Vamboi; (Social Welfare) dated August 17, 2004. In the Fall of 1996, MAPS received a phone call from Dr. Roland Kargbo, Director of Help A Needy Child International (HANCI) in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He was looking for an American agency to collaborate with to save some of his country’s children. He told us that a 9 year civil war had created many thousands of displaced people, including many orphaned children.

In December of 1996, Jennifer Sylvester (Director) and I flew to Freetown. A good faith plan was developed to open a child survival center with HANCI. The Child Survival Center was established in Makeni in January 1997. MAPS paid HANCI personnel Henry Abu as Program Director and John Gbla as the Social Worker. We committed to finding families for 15 orphans, but the number soon swelled to 29. All copies of these 29 cases have sent DHL to Henry Abu along with photos and post placement reports.

So the parents of these children had not been 'informed' of the agreement between MAPS and HANCI. This proposed M.O.U is dated March 13, 1997 and all we have is a poorly photocopied facsimile which will not reproduce too well here (we will make this available to relevant authorities when needed).

* A child placed for adoption is a gift and is treated by the adoptive family as though it were born to them.

* Adoption is a special way of providing a home and family for a child who does not have one.

* Children will only be placed with parents who have a home study approved and accepted by both the U.S and Sierra Leonean Embassy personnel designated for that purpose.

* Every 3 months for the first six months, a progress report will be supplied to HANCI with copies to the Ministry of Social Welfare of Sierra Leone.

* Sometime in the future the adoptive family, including the child, may visit Sierra Leone and meet with surviving relatives of the child as well as to become familiar with the native area of the child.

These first five clauses of the proposed M.O.U clearly prove that what Maine Adoption and Placement Services planned, in collaboration with HANCI, was a CHILD ADOPTION SERVICE from Makeni. Indeed it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that an ngo so-named would be primarily interested in ADOPTIONS.

Of course MAPS does not carry out its placements for free but we were unable to discover exactly how much it charges for its 'service'.

And, as usual, Sierra Leoneans do not look a 'Gift Horse' in the mouth. We do not have any concrete proof that MAPS paid cash money to facilitate the 'adoption' of these 29 children. What we DO KNOW is that no CONSENT FORM was ever signed by any of these children's parents.

According to the adoption laws of Sierra Leone any adoption processed must be APPROVED by the Ministry of Social Welfare - exactly how an adoption process NOT consented to by the parents was so 'approved' are questions both HANCI and the Ministry need to answer to our satisfaction.

Following this 'approval' a High Court can then rule on an application. The courts are supposed to satisfy themselves that the 'moral interests' of the child will be served by adoption. But in mid 1997, with Makeni under rebel control, we doubt very much whether the courts stood on the letter of the law too much. Unfortunately the documents are all in custody of INTERPOL - otherwise we would Name and Shame judges and lawyers who involved themselves in this shameless and tardy procedure.

In Sierra Leone it appears that the only way a sole or surviving parent can irrevocably relinquish his or her parental rights to his or her child is at the Ministry of Social Welfare in the presence of either the Minister and/or the Chief Social Development Officer.

The U.S itself may argue that none of its laws were broken. The Hague Adoption Convention on Protection of Children was only domesticated into U.S Law on April 1, 2008 (11 years after these children were trafficked from Sierra Leone).

At present here we stand. These parents have not seen their children in over 12 years. Abubakar Kargbo, now in his twenties, has a little sister Fatima, who is now about 17. Is she materially better off than she would be in Sierra Leone? Perhaps - but this is not the point.

These children have been abruptly separated from their biological parents. God only knows what they have been told by their adoptive parents is the fate of their biological parents.

How a Little African Child adjusts to being placed in an alien environment (Maine is one of the most Lily White of all U.S States) with no contact with their homes or roots is a mystery.

In July last year, Abubakar Kargbo found out that MPAS had initiated the adoption process without parental consent. He e-mailed MAPS and got the following reply.

Dear Mr. Kargbo,

Due to confidentiality, MAPS is unable to disclose any information about individuals who may or may not have been assisted by MAPS in some form. As such, we regret that we are unable to address your request.

We want to reassure you, however, that MAPS consistently makes its best efforts to adhere to all applicable standards and laws governing intercountry adoptions.

Additionally, we help ensure that children adjust well after their adoptions through post placement supervision and referral guidance to support services, if needed.

Kind regards, MAPS Staff

Yes, this is how we leave our children to the tender mercies of strangers!

I'm sure MAPS is making its 'best efforts', 'but this does not address the initial fraud and deceit involved in the fake 'adoptions'. It may be difficult, at this time, to reunite the children with their biological parents. But can anyone tell me why they should continue to languish without news of their children? Or why those involved in this shameful Trafficking Scam should not be PUNISHED?

http://www.peepsierraleone.com/daily-news/129-how-our-children-29-kids-were-trafficked-to-america.html

Organizations: Help a Needy Child International (HANCI), MAPS (Maine Adoption Placement Services)

Countries: Sierra Leone, United States of America

Police Dismantle Child Trafficking Syndicate

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE
Police Dismantle Child Trafficking Syndicate
By Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Aug 31, 2004 (IPS) - The Sierra Leonean police have busted what they refer to as the biggest child trafficking syndicate in the West African nation since the end of the civil conflict three years ago.

‘’We have arrested and charged three persons thought to be the brains behind the syndicate. And we are doing all in our power to have the Sierra Leonean kids trafficked to be brought back home,’’ says police commissioner for crime services Richard Moigbeh.

Some 29 children were recently trafficked to the United States allegedly under the auspices of ‘Help A Needy Child International (HANCI), which operates an orphanage and a home for destitute children in Sierra Leone’s northern town of Makeni.

The scheme went like this: two of the prime suspects currently in police custody Henry Abu and John Gbla would allegedly identify and approach destitute parents and propose to them the adoption of their children by foster parents.

The unsuspecting parents who could barely afford food for the family let alone send their children to school fall in for the bait and gladly give away their children.

Moigbeh says the children are first placed in an orphanage and then ‘’taken to a neighbouring country like Guinea or Ghana, in batches before finally being flown to the United States.’’

Their parents, he adds, are hardly informed about the true picture of what then happens to their children. A U.S.-based agency, the Maine Adoption Placement Service (MAPS) had allegedly been colluding with HANCI to facilitate the trafficking, he claims.

But HANCI operations manager Kelfa Mallay has denied the child trafficking allegations. His charity activities, he says, do not even include adoption of children. ‘’We did have a working relationship with the U.S. agency MAPS but we’d separated a couple of years ago,’’ Mallay told journalists.

He said Abu, one of the suspects on trial was initially a staff of HANCI but broke off later and together with his co-accused Gbla, set up their own charity and acted as desk officer for MAPS.

There has been no reaction from MAPS about the allegations.

But the police say, while prosecution of the three suspects is underway, efforts are being made to have the children in the United States repatriated home and reunited with their families.

Moigbeh told IPS: ‘’We have been in constant touch with MAPS in the U.S. and they’ve acknowledged receiving the 29 children. Our job now is to see how we could secure the children and have them returned to their families here (in Sierra Leone).’’

He describes the child trafficking scam as a criminal offence and has dispatched police officers to trace the biological parents of the other children at the Cherith orphanage in Makeni to reunite them with their parents.

‘’In the meantime, we are going to place those children at the orphanage (in Makeni) under the protection of the ministry of gender and children’s affairs,’’ Moigbeh adds. The exact number of children at the Cherith orphanage has not been disclosed but police describe its operations as suspect.

Reactions to the child trafficking scam have been mixed. While many acknowledge the criminality of the syndicate, the difficult economic circumstances are equally advanced for such a social vice.

Margaret Kabia, a mother of six who lost her husband during Sierra Leone’s war, says: ‘’If they are legitimately adopting my kid, I would offer even two. I am an unemployed single parent struggling to bring up six children. This is simply too much for me’’.

Osman Jalloh, a businessman in the capital Freetown, considers child trafficking as an offence. ‘’It (child trafficking) is unjustifiable in all its forms. I can understand the economic problems in the country but that should not warrant anyone to prey on poor parents and criminally traffic their children without their consent,’’ he says.

Bassie Conteh, a push-cart driver in Freetowm, says: ‘’For me, there’s nothing wrong with it. At the end of the day, I know my kid would be in America and help me back home.’’

Sierra Leone is a signatory to the convention on the right of the child. Having experienced first hand the abuse of children during the country's civil war such as forceful conscription, rape and enslavement, the authorities are apparently acting tough on child right abuses.

Poverty, deprivation and the break-up of traditional family ties have made children even more vulnerable to various forms of abuses. An official at the ministry of social welfare told IPS last week that more stringent measures would be adopted to protect the rights of children.

‘’We would closely monitor orphanages and other child-care NGOs in order to ascertain their activities. Such a scam is unacceptable and must be put to halt once and for all,’’ the official said.

Human and child trafficking is fast becoming a problem in the West African sub-region. Two weeks ago, a derelict vessel was seized by Spanish police with the help of Guinean and Sierra Leonean security forces on high seas attempting to traffic some 500 would-be illegal immigrants. Many were thought to be young people.

The police say their investigations into the latest scam in Sierra Leone are continuing. (END)

http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25283

Countries: United States of America, Sierra Leone

Organizations: MAPS (Maine Adoption Placement Services), Help a Needy Child International (HANCI)

Judgement Day For Jesus Cares Orphanage Home

By Stella Odueme, Correspondent, Lagos

It seems there will be no hiding place for operators of unapproved orphanage homes in Lagos State. This is as a result of the new onslaught on the operators in recent times. Last week Thursday, the hammer came heavily on Jesus Cares Orphanage Home, located at No. 23 Alaba Taiwo Street, Alagbado in Alakuko, a suburb of Lagos when officials of office of Youth and Social Development visited and shut it down for alleged child trafficking and abuse.

Three weeks, ago, Ife-Oluwa Orphanage Home, located in Jakande Estate, Lekki and operated by 84-year old Mrs. Theresa Marques was also closed down for alleged sale of babies.

Luck was said to have run out of the Alakuko orphanage operator when in the early hours of last week’s Tuesday, one Prince Eteng, 22-year old, was seen begging for alms on behalf of the children in the Jesus Cares Orphanage inside a commercial bus enroute Ikeja from Sango, Otta. One of the operators, Mrs. Edet Clement was arrested at her three- bedroom flat, which doubles as orphanage home.

It was gathered that the man was then accosted by a female Information officer of Lagos State Government {names withheld} who had earlier put N100 in the envelope he gave her.

Not knowing why the lady beckoned on him, Eteng entered into dialogue with her revealing little details about the orphanage. However, the official was said to be suspicious of the activities and authenticity of the said orphanage and quickly sent a text message to her colleague in the Office of Youth and Social Development which is responsible for orphanage matters in the state to assist her in confirming whether the orphanage was registered with the state government.

On questioning, Eteng said he was working for Mr. and Mrs. Edet Clement, (both Pastors) and owners of the orphanage. He disclosed that his duty was to collect offerings and donations from members of the public and deliver to his employers. He revealed further that he used to be paid N1000 as transport allowance and that he used to distribute 60 envelopes per day.

“I was a security guard before I was introduced to her, every day I go out, they give me N1,000 for transportation,” he confessed.

When officials from the ministry stormed the Orphanage, the environment was in disarray while it also looked empty with no foodstuff for the children. As at 11 am, the children confessed that they have not had breakfast.

It was also revealed that the children were not registered into school. The children were later gathered and taken to Alakuko Police Station where the case was reported before they were moved to the State Secretariat, Alausa.

A 28 year old Ghanaian nursing mother, who served as nanny to the children said she was a widow and had left Ghana in order to avoid the dehumanising rites she was meant to go through. She stated that she moved into the orphanage in her quest for shelter for herself and her daughter.

Residents expressed shock that there was an orphanage in the neighborhood. A resident, Mr. Stanley Francis, explained that a friend who lives in the compound recently drew his attention to the cry of the children.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Social Development, Dr Dolapo Badru who vowed that government would not relent in its efforts to rid the state of illegal orphanage operators referred the children to the government- owned orphanage home at Idi-Araba.

“We have many illegal orphanages in the state and we are doing all we can to sanitise the system, they are causing a lot of problem for adoptees and the society. Illegal home is by all means a place where illegal activities take place, we will not relent, we will continue to hunt them down, “he stated.

According to Mrs. Edet, she and her husband who pastor the Timeless Christian Chapel International, Mangoro Lagos, decided to help the children because they have no parents. She said they started the home in February, 2010 and that her husband had travelled when the officials visited.

On how she took possession of so many children in a short period, she explained that some of the children were brought to the home by relatives after their parents died, while the others were handed over to them by their parents after signing an agreement.

Edet however claimed that though they did not know that they had to register with the State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development before operation, they were already in the process of registering the orphanage with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=15346

Countries: Nigeria