I was at Chetna Sharma’s home for our monthly beer sessions. Their two little girls, Saanya and Raina, came running to ask if I could take them to watch a game of quidditch. Chetna holds me responsible for their newfound obsession with the world of Harry Potter while Raina is the one who made me fall in love with dogs after the first time she and Tobler assumed their throne on my lap (Tobler uninvited!)

At the tender age of 1.5 years, Raina was found by the local police abandoned on the streets of Uttar Pradesh with a few bruises. Around the same time, the couple, who already had Saanya, had filed their application with the Central Adoption Resource Authority to adopt their second child. As destiny would have it, within 8 months, Raina found herself a loving family in the Sharmas.

As I poured another round, I told Chetna about how they have performed a noble deed by giving a new lease of life to an orphan, instead of producing ‘their own’. To my surprise, she emotively disagreed and said, “No Samyak, it is the other way around. With Raina coming into our lives, we have become so much more compassionate, open and emotionally intelligent. In fact, though she is still young, our decision has had a huge positive impact on Saanya as well. She understands now that love is unconditional.” This is one of the many stories of adoptive families that I have known.

By choosing to adopt, adoptive parents/families embark upon a journey of spiritual growth, contentment, and joy. Yet, in India, the general perception of adoption is quite the opposite. The narrative on adoption as an alternative to family planning either does not exist or is frowned upon in most households. Humans are inherently controlled by their need to reproduce and carry on their bloodlines. The story in India is no different. Yet, what makes the case of India different is the concept of caste. The fear of not being able to carry on their bloodline exists and adopting someone from a different caste may be an absolute no-go for many prospective families. Even if modern couples wish to adopt, the elders in the family may not accept a child out of adoption with concerns about them being from a lower caste or social strata. It is also true that one may be willing to adopt but may not possess the emotional bandwidth to do so. This, however, may be overcome by counselling and training. Moreover, the fear of legal and administrative delays also looms large upon those who wish to adopt and many a time stops them altogether from pursuing this option. While this fear may be somewhat justified due to India’s unyielding bureaucracy, it is important to reiterate that despite the potential hurdles in the process of adoption, it is worth it!

A person’s childhood holds significance in more ways than one can think. The compassion, care, and exposure with which a child is raised can determine the entire course of their lifetime. A child raised in the comforts of a loving home, will not only be able to create a good life for themselves but also contribute to the better good of society. A lack of emotional guidance, resources, and poor quality of education, on the other hand, may potentially create societal threats in the form of petty thieves, drug addicts, and criminals with little other recourse. For adoptive parents/families, adoption can help them evolve as individuals and perhaps even improve their mental health.

Letter from Central Adoption Resource Authority follows concerns over delays due to transfer of cases from courts to DMs

The country’s apex adoption body, Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), has written to District Magistrates to expeditiously dispose of cases and issue adoption orders, particularly where the matter has been transferred from courts in conformity with the revised rules.

“The amount of court backlog varies, in some instances, hearings have concluded, in others they have not. Although two months is the maximum allowed time for the DM to issue an adoption order, the DMs have the authority to conclude the case during the first hearing itself and to issue adoption orders as expeditiously as possible, particularly the transferred cases,” says a letter from Tripti Guha, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development and CEO of CARA, on September 27, 2022.

The letter follows the coming into effect of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act 2021 from September 1, followed by the JJ Model Amendment Rules 2022 which make District Magistrates the authority for passing adoption orders, instead of courts that were assigned this role earlier. This had led to apprehensions about delays in nearly 1,000 cases pending before courts, which would now have to be transferred to DMs for a final order. Activists, lawyers and adoption agencies said DMs and courts were not aware about the new rules and didn’t have instructions to deal with cases where courts had already spent several weeks in hearing arguments and evidence.

Laura (center) gave up her daughter for adoption three years ago. On the left Mariëlle Kappert, on the right Nicolette Sprenger, rescuers from the Fiom. Statue Maikel Samuels

On average, about 20 women a year give up their child for adoption. One of them tells why she chose this.

Petra VissersSeptember 13, 2022 , 09:45

Anyway, her daughter had to grow up 'safe, stable and steady'. “That is the most important thing for a child's development,” says Laura (24) firmly. So three years ago she gave her girl up for adoption. “I immediately knew: we will not be able to raise her.”

Laura, a tall slender twenties with brown curls, was living with her anti-squat boyfriend four years ago when she turned out to be pregnant. “We had already been told that we had to get out of that house,” she says. “Our lives were restless, we both struggled with our own traumas.”

A sentencing hearing for Pieper Lewis, the teenage sex trafficking victim from Des Moines convicted of killing her alleged rapist, will resume Tuesday morning at the Polk County Courthouse.

Pieper Lewis, now 17, stabbed Zachary Brooks to death in the early hours of June 1, 2020. Brooks, 37, of Des Moines raped Lewis, then 15, five times in the weeks before Lewis killed him after another alleged sexual assault, according to a plea agreement.

A sentencing hearing on Sept. 7 ended before Lewis could give her statement of allocution and before witnesses called by prosecutors finished testifying.

More:A homeless Des Moines teen who killed her alleged rapist faces 20 years in prison. She's a victim, too, her attorneys say.

Polk County Judge David M. Porter presided over the hearing and will determine Lewis' sentence. He could rule from the bench or issue his ruling before her 18th birthday on Sept. 28.

A spokesman for Canada's foreign affairs minister says new sanctions against a Russian official will make her a "global pariah."

Adrien Blanchard says the economic penalties against Maria Lvova-Belova are meant to "isolate her and hold her accountable for her crimes."

Lvova-Belova is Russia's children's rights commissioner.

But Global Affairs alleges she is also the architect of a scheme to abduct Ukrainian children and facilitate their adoption into Russian homes.

Thousands of kids have been transported to Russia from the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the months since the war began.

In recent years, Holt International has made a significant shift from serving children primarily through adoption to helping tens of thousands more children every year to remain in the loving care of their birth families. Below, Holt President and CEO Phil Littleton shares how Holt has grown and changed in the years since our founding in 1956.

Looking back, I feel so proud of Holt’s journey as an organization. In 1956, our founders pioneered the modern practice of international adoption — overcoming legal and cultural barriers to unite children born overseas with loving adoptive families in the U.S. They believed that every child deserves to grow up in a home of his or her own. And by adopting children born of a different race and nationality, they redefined the notion of family.

Today, we still share the vision of our founders. We still believe that love transcends barriers of race, religion and nationality. And we still seek a world where every child has a stable, loving home. But as Holt has grown over the years, we have also progressed as an organization — developing a core philosophy around which we have built robust, child-focused programs that directly meet the needs of over 322,000 children annually and in total reach over one million children, families and individuals in 17 locations across the globe.

The vast majority of the children we serve are not on track for adoption. In fact, every year, Holt serves tens of thousands more children through family strengthening programs than we do through adoption. We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families. Through the years, this fundamental belief has led our organization to become a global leader in family preservation and reunification — providing the tools and resources that empower families to grow stable, self-reliant and equipped to independently care for their children.

We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families.

In recent years, Holt International has made a significant shift from serving children primarily through adoption to helping tens of thousands more children every year to remain in the loving care of their birth families. Below, Holt President and CEO Phil Littleton shares how Holt has grown and changed in the years since our founding in 1956.

Looking back, I feel so proud of Holt’s journey as an organization. In 1956, our founders pioneered the modern practice of international adoption — overcoming legal and cultural barriers to unite children born overseas with loving adoptive families in the U.S. They believed that every child deserves to grow up in a home of his or her own. And by adopting children born of a different race and nationality, they redefined the notion of family.

Today, we still share the vision of our founders. We still believe that love transcends barriers of race, religion and nationality. And we still seek a world where every child has a stable, loving home. But as Holt has grown over the years, we have also progressed as an organization — developing a core philosophy around which we have built robust, child-focused programs that directly meet the needs of over 322,000 children annually and in total reach over one million children, families and individuals in 17 locations across the globe.

The vast majority of the children we serve are not on track for adoption. In fact, every year, Holt serves tens of thousands more children through family strengthening programs than we do through adoption. We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families. Through the years, this fundamental belief has led our organization to become a global leader in family preservation and reunification — providing the tools and resources that empower families to grow stable, self-reliant and equipped to independently care for their children.

We believe, first and foremost, that whenever possible children should grow up in the loving care of their birth families.

At the age of five, Myranda was adopted from South Korea and ended up in the Netherlands, in a dysfunctional family. With a mother who was regularly hospitalized and a father who was often absent, Myranda grew up in a tense home environment. She decided to write down her story and published her book on September 24, entitled: Wees. Motherly love subject to conditions. In the Night of EO she shares her story and experiences.

Après dix ans de procédure

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Soixante-quatorze enfants roumains pourront rejoindre leurs parents adoptifs en France

Soixante-quatorze enfants roumains qui attendent, certains depuis plusieurs années, de rejoindre leurs parents adoptifs français vont enfin pouvoir gagner la France, a annoncé, le mardi 19 juillet [1988], le ministère des affaires étrangères à Paris. Le conseil d’Etat roumain a, en effet, approuvé leur adoption et la liste des enfants concernés a été remise ces jours derniers par l’ambassade de Roumanie au Quai d’Orsay.

L’affaire des « bébés roumains » remonte à une dizaine d’années. A l’époque, des avocats roumains étaient venus en France proposer à des couples d’adopter, moyennant une certaine somme, des enfants roumains. Les candidats à l’adoption se sont rendus en Roumanie, où ils ont pu choisir comme on leur promettait « leur » enfant avant d’ouvrir une procédure d’adoption. Les difficultés sont apparues quand ils ont demandé une sortie du territoire. Malgré de nombreuses démarches, la Roumanie s’opposait au départ des enfants.

KRO-team in het nauw op Haïti/TV vooraf

Het team van het KRO-televisieprogramma 'Spoorloos' heeft vlak voor Kerstmis op Haïti moeten vluchten voor een woedende menigte om kort daarna bijna in een vunzige politiecel terecht te komen.

Fred Lammers8 januari 1999, 00:00

Presentatrice Karin de Groot, redacteur Liz de Kort en cameraman Boudewijn Huisman waren met de achttienjarige Mirlaine van der Pol en haar adoptiemoeder Hilly Visscher naar Jacmel, een dorp aan de kust van Haïti, gereisd om daar de ontmoeting van Mirlaine met haar grootmoeder te filmen. Het was haar hartenwens om oma terug te zien.

Twaalf jaar geleden werd Mirlaine samen met haar twee jaar jongere zusje Manouschka door de in Friesland wonende familie Van der Pol geadopteerd. Dat betekende voor hen een gedwongen afscheid van oma, die zich tot dat moment over de meisjes had ontfermd nadat hun biologische moeder hun leven in een hel had veranderd. Mirlaine deed een beroep op 'Spoorloos' in de hoop op die manier de vrouw die zo'n grote rol in haar jonge leven had gespeeld, nog eens te ontmoeten. Een plaatselijke correspondent lokaliseerde de biologische moeder van het meisje, die beloofde haar dochter met het camerateam naar oma te zullen brengen.