Gambia: National Forum On Orphans And Vulnerable Children Hold Workshop

26 November 2009

The National Forum on Orphans and Vulnerable Children in collaboration with the Department of State for Social Welfare and the World Initiative for Orphans on Monday began a two day consultative workshop on the protection of vulnerable children and children without parental care.

The theme for the forum was "bridging the gaps".

The principal objective of the forum was to create awareness for government leaders, decision-makers, politicians and civil society of their responsibility to all children without parental care.

Het World Initiative for Orphans

Kinderen zonder ouders zijn weerloos - het WIO is hun advocaat

Samenwerking in vergevorderd stadium

Binnenkort worden de besprekingen tussen Stichting Vereende Krachten en het "World Initiative for Orphans" voor een langdurige samenwerking afgerond. De opbrengsten uit veilingen ed. zullen hierdoor ten bate komen van het werk van WIO. Het WIO is een nonprofit organisatie, die de mensenrechten van wezen en vondelingen wereldwijd bewaakt. Zij zet zich in voor de basisbehoeften van deze achtergestelde bevolkingsgroepen door het verlenen van juridische en opvoedkundige diensten en het bieden van de juiste oplossingen. Het WIO is de stem voor deze kinderen

Vergaande efficiëntie bij hulpverlening

Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases

March 5, 2010

The Department of State shares families’ concerns about recent media reports alleging direct recruitment of children from birth parents by adoption service providers or their employees. In response to these reports, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has implemented some changes to adoption visa processing. Adoptive parents should be aware that an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ethiopia until they have confirmed with their adoption agency that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed.

Adoption agencies submit case paperwork to the U.S. Embassy for review before the Embassy schedules the immigrant visa appointment. In some cases the I-604 determination could take several weeks or more from the time a case is submitted to the U.S. Embassy to the scheduling of a visa interview appointment. We understand that in such cases this will result in a longer period before parents are able to bring their adopted children to the U.S. However, this additional scrutiny is required to ensure that the adoption is legal under both U.S. and Ethiopian law. The U.S. Embassy will work with adoptive parents and their adoption agency to ensure that each case is processed in the most expeditious manner possible in accordance laws and regulations. Families should continue to work through their agency to schedule immigrant visa appointments and answer questions regarding pending cases.

If families have concerns about their adoption, we ask that they share this information with the Embassy, particularly if it involves possible fraud or misconduct specific to your child’s case. The Embassy takes all allegations of fraud or misconduct seriously.

Mozambican police investigate child trafficking

By EMANUEL CAMILLO

The Associated Press

Thursday, March 4, 2010; 10:50 AM

MAPUTO, Mozambique -- Mozambican police have said they are investigating a suspected attempt to traffic 15 children into the central port city of Beira after residents in the area raised the alarm.

Woman Denies Trying to Sell Baby for Dh8,500 Mary Nammour

4 March 2010, DUBAI — A woman cook denied in court on Wednesday that she had surreptitiously tried to sell another woman’s newborn baby boy to undercover police officers for Dh8,500 in October.

The 24-year-old Indonesian cook claimed before the Court of First Instance that she had only wanted to give away the baby for adoption with his biological mother’s consent. Denying that she asked for any money in exchange, she pleaded not guilty to the human trafficking charge against her that was read out by the presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir.

However, according to court records, the cook had initially offered the baby for Dh10,000 before settling for Dh8,500. She told the baby’s biological mother that the baby was being given away to an Emirati family for adoption.

An woman sergeant from the Anti-Organized Crime Department’s Human Trafficking Section told the prosecutors that on October 30 she had received a telephone call regarding the case. She added, “I was informed that the defendant was about to sell a newborn (baby boy) for Dh10,000. I was given her number.”

Russian officials call for suspension of adoptions to U.S. parents after death of Dillsburg-area boy

By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News

March 05, 2010, 12:00AM

Provided by ITAR-TASS News Service

Nathaniel Craver and his twin sister pose in this undated photograph.

Jeudi 5 novembre 2009

Communauté : Evénements actuels

Aide aux enfants du Congo

A tous les Congolaises,

A tous les Congolais,

***Persbericht***

Den Haag, 28 juli 2009

Situatie van alleen gaande vluchtelingen- en weeskinderen in DR Congo verslechtert

In de jarenlange oorlog in de Democratische Republiek Congo zijn tienduizenden kinderen het slachtoffer geworden. Het conflict kostte al aan ruim 5 miljoen mensen het leven, dit is het grootste aantal burgerslachtoffers sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Jaarlijks sterven er ongeveer 620.000 kinderen voor hun vijfde levensjaar in heel Congo, waarvan in de oostelijke provincie, Kivu zelfs 600 kinderen per dag.

Daarnaast neemt ook het aantal kinderen, dat gescheiden is van hun ouders, nog steeds dramatisch toe. In de totale chaos zijn zij hun ouders kwijtgeraakt. Zonder de begeleiding van ouders en/of vaste verzorgers zijn deze kinderen extra kwetsbaar. Ze raken sneller ondervoed, uitgeput of ziek. Ze lopen gevaar voor misbruik, geweld en exploitatie. Jongens en meisjes worden zelfs ontvoerd uit de vluchtelingenkampen om als kindsoldaat mee te strijden in rebellenlegers en meisjes worden vaak seksueel misbruikt.

Stichting WIO / Kinderhulp Congo

is een erkend goed doel (not for profit, Kamer van Koophandel).

volgt de VFI gedragscode

werkt met stagiaires en vrijwilligers (o.a. via UAF) en is Ecabo gecertificeerd

werkt voor 90% met lokaal personeel hierdoor is de overhead laag

Govt reveals ACT couples caught up in adoption scams

The ACT Government has revealed that a number of Canberra couples have been caught up in overseas adoption scams where the child has been stolen from its parents.
Office for Children, Youth and Family Support executive director Megan Mitchell has told an Assembly Committee the abuses largely happened in the late 1990s but they only came to light recently.
Ms Mitchell says they have given support to the families affected.
"There were a few families affected at that time, and my understanding is that those families have been counselled and are satisfied with the way forward," she said.
"Many of them have connected with those families where that relinquishment happened."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/03/2506507.htm