ACT | Documents

Home

Teacher inspired to help Ugandan orphans

By KEN CHITWOOD, FOR THE CHRONICLE

Updated 06:22 p.m., Thursday, October 20, 2011

1 of 2.

View: Larger|Hide

Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis, with Beth Clark, is the story of Davis's efforts to care for orphans in Africa. Credit: Simon and Schuster

Photo: Courtesy Photo / HC

Images of naked children covered in flies, stories of mothers abandoning unwanted children or testimonies of child oppression, slavery and prostitution often prompt Americans to donate money or turn the channel on their TV. Imagine hearing their stories and deciding to get involved directly in their care. Now, imagine doing that right out of high school.

Katie Davis did just that. In 2007, after graduating high school in Tennessee, where she was senior class president and homecoming queen, Davis left for Uganda to teach kindergarten at a nonprofit orphanage for a year.

Four years later, she is fighting to be the adoptive parent of 13 children, runs a nonprofit called Amazima Ministries and just published a book, Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption.

Eschewing the normal track for a young adult, Katie fought past her parents' disappointment, her brother's heartbreak and her friends' shock to pursue a radical path in Uganda.

"As I read the Bible more and fell more in love with Jesus, I felt compelled. I wanted to love the poor, the hurting and the oppressed in the way Jesus loved them," Davis said. "I visited Uganda in high school and experienced this poverty, hurt and oppression on a whole new level and knew I had to do something, anything, to help."

Surprisingly, there are others like Davis, young women such as Abby Tracy, who started the nonprofit A Perfect Injustice in Kampala, Uganda, or Alyssa Magnusson, who founded Fikisha to get boys off the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, and back into school.

Motivated by their own "adoption" into the family of God, these young women are part of a growing evangelical movement prompting people to adopt children from foreign countries, get involved in orphan care ministries or move to foreign countries to care for street children.

These women, claiming inspiration from God for their involvement in the lives of children in East Africa, are part of a larger evangelical Christian orphan care and adoption movement that has grown over the past decade and is becoming more mainstream.

"Ten years ago, this movement did not really exist, and if it did it was in seed form," said Dan Cruver, co-founder of Together for Adoption. "Today, there are over 1,000 orphan and adoption ministries in the evangelical world, and it's growing."

But there has been conflict along the way. People fear that these women are in danger. Others question their motives.

As NPR reported in July, Davis is under scrutiny by Ugandan child-welfare officials who not only object to her taking on 13 children but remind Davis and others that under Ugandan law an adoptive parent must be at least 25 and at least 21 years older than the child being adopted. Davis' oldest "daughter" is 15, just seven years younger than her potential adoptive mother.

Asked about the possibility of conflict amidst the obvious zeal in evangelical circles to care for orphans and adopt children from foreign locales, Cruver observed that though the need is monumental, "sometimes there are errant motives" at work, fed by media buzz or the romanticism of celebrity adoptions.

"Americans, in particular, tend to be people who want to act immediately. We see a problem, and we want to help, and then we act," he said. "At times, our feeling outdistances our careful practical thinking and actions within the confines of the law. This is an issue in the movement we need to address. People need to slow down their passion."

Countries: Uganda

BETTER STAY AWAY FROM PREETMANDIR, Mr BHASIN

Kaumudi Gurjar

Special CBI judge takes serious note of MiD DAY expose, tells Preetmandir former managing trustee J S Bhasin not to violate court order again by entering orphanage premises

LESS than four months since a MiD DAY sting operation at the Preetmandir orphanage showed former managing trustee J S Bhasin violating a court order that had restrained him from entering the Preetmandir premises, Special CBI Judge D R Mahajan took serious note of the MiD DAY expose and warned Bhasin against repeating the act.

It may be recalled that even as the Preetmandir controversy over allegations of financial irregularities and child trafficking was raging and the case was being heard in courtrooms, MiD DAY had found Bhasin in the office of the adoption home.

A MiD DAY reporter posing as a prospective adoptive parent had photographed Bhasin seated in the orphanage with other office staff, flipping through office files.

Special CBI Judge Mahajan took notice of the report and, while hearing the application filed by employees of the trust who had earlier pointed out that Bhasin was interfering in day- to- day matters of the trust, directed him to neither enter the office nor intervene in the proceedings and working of the trust.

The complainant in the case has filed an application requesting the court that the case of alleged trafficking of grandchildren of one Kisabai Lokhande from Ahmednagar be further investigated by CBI teams who have already filed a chargesheet on the financial irregularities and child trafficking from Preetmandir under Section 173( 8) of the CrPC. The court postponed the hearing on this matter after CBI public prosecutor Manoj Chaladan sought time to file a reply on this case.

A criminal writ petition against Preetmandir was filed by Sakhee Pune and Advait Foundation Mumbai in 2006 demanding CBI investigation in financial irregularities, kidnapping and corruption cases.

Bhasin was granted conditional bail in August 2010 on medical grounds.

A CBI team filed a chargesheet on March 11 this year against Preetmandir former MD, former CARA chairperson J K Mittal and four people who had also procured anticipatory bail.

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir, ACT CASE Grandmother Satara - Kisabai Lokhande

Persons: Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin

As waiting times increase, fewer choosing adoption

WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2011 14:09 JENNIFER BULEY NEWS

Waiting times of up to five years have would-be parents giving up plans to adopt, study finds

Even though fewer Danes are applying to adopt, the decline is less dramatic than in other countries (Photo: Colourbox)

Fewer people in Denmark today adopt children from other countries, mirroring a general global trend. However, the downturn here is less dramatic than elsewhere, according to a new report by the National Board of Adoption.

Countries: China, Denmark, Kenya

Adoption a better option to abandoning a child

Adoption
a better option to abandoning a child

Wednesday, 19 October 2011 21:35

The Probation and Childcare Department today appealed to mothers who
abandon their children due to economic and social reasons to hand over their
children to the department for adoption and to refrain from taking their
children’s lives or abandoning them as has been a trend in the recent
past.

Probation Officer Nirmali Perera said in Sri Lanka adoption had a
stigma attached to it and people often chose to hide it from society.

She
said people should have a positive view about adoption procedures as it was the
best alternative to give a home and a future for the little child.

Ms.
Perera said an infant or young child less than 14 years of age whom the parents
want to abandon because they were unable to support the child can hand them over
to the Provincial Commissioner of the Probation and Childcare Department in
their respective provinces.

If infants are found abandoned in a state
hospital the hospital will hand over the child to the Provincial Commissioner in
the area. The Provincial Commissioner will put the child in the waiting list for
adoption. “The parent can meet the Provincial Commissioner and hand over the
child. They may have to show evidence to prove that they cannot support the
child. However if the parent refuses to support the child then we will undertake
the responsibility to ensure the child is protected,” Ms. Perera said. “There
have been several incidents in the recent past where parents have allegedly
abandoned their children or killed them. Instead of doing so, we ask them to
hand over their children to us. The department will provide them a
home.”

Ms. Perera said parents took such drastic decision because of
poverty, disputes between the parents or because of unmarried girls who feel
they cannot support a child. “People choose to take very drastic measures when
they are in desperate situations of this nature as they are unaware of the
alternatives available for their children,” she said.

In Sri Lanka
children below 14 years can be adopted by sending a written request to the
Probation and Childcare Department’s Provincial Commissioner requesting for a
child to be adopted. Subsequently the applicant’s suitability will be
investigated and evaluated. If they fulfil the criteria they will be able to
register with the Provincial Commissioner for the adoption of a child.
(Olindhi Jayasundere)

Countries: Sri Lanka

The 'Russian spy' and her four-year affair with a married Lib Dem MP

Katia Zatuliveter 'deliberately targeted womaniser Mike Hancock', says Government lawyer

26-year-old Russian denies her ex-lover is 'influential'

Parliamentary aide also had affairs with several European diplomats

By JACK DOYLE

Persons: Michael Hancock, MP

Angelique Hatch - Her passion led to her appointment to International Children’s Services board

Published October 16, 2011, 10:16 AM
Her passion led to her appointment to International Children’s Services board
Angelique Hatch has been selected to join the board of directors for the Joint Council on International Children’s Services. Nothing could be more appropriate for the busy mother of four children, three of them adopted.
By: Margaret Ontl, Hudson Star-Observer

.
Angelique Hatch, center, is surrounded by her children. In the front from the left are Audrey, 8, and Liam, 4. In the second row are Emerson, 11, Hatch and Logan, 10. Emerson was born in India. Logan and Liam were born in Guatemala. Submitted photo
Talk about it Angelique Hatch has been selected to join the board of directors for the Joint Council on International Children’s Services. Nothing could be more appropriate for the busy mother of four children, three of them adopted.

“I don’t sit still well,” said Hatch. “This seems like a natural fit.” Even though the Angelique and Dan Hatch did not know it at the time, the work of the Joint Council is what allowed them to be grandfathered in for their the adoption of Liam from Guatemala. “They believe every child should have the opportunity to have a safe environment.”

The seeds of the present Joint Council were sown in 1975. However, in 2006, a transition began. Joint Council would transform itself from a trade association that served its members into a coalition of leading social service organizations that serve children and families. Their mission changed, programs expanded and they increased their impact, while continuing their focus, expertise and passion for ethical inter-country adoption.

Today the organization has a membership of over 250 organizations, $760 million in collective services and reaches into 52 countries with a base of over 60,000 supporters. Joint Council is aggressively moving forward to serve more children, strengthen more families and protect the right of every child to have a permanent, safe and loving family.

Persons: Angelique Hatch

Organizations: Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS)

Chinese orphanages buying babies for foreign adoption, investigation finds

Chinese orphanages buying babies for foreign adoption, investigation finds
From: NewsCore
October 14, 20114:30PM

CHINESE orphanages may still be buying babies and offering them for foreign adoption, Sky News discovered in an investigation.

It follows a series of scandals linking China's foreign adoption program to baby trafficking and the illegal confiscation of children.

Since international adoptions began in China in the early 1990s, more than 100,000 children have been adopted by foreign nationals. Adoptive couples are told by the Chinese authorities that the babies they adopt are either orphaned or abandoned.

But an undercover investigation by Sky found more than one government orphanage that would happily buy a baby that could have been kidnapped.

Countries: China

South Africa tightens rules for foreign adoptions

15:03 AEST Fri Oct 14 2011

ago

In the wake of Madonna's adoptions in nearby Malawi, and a commercial surrogacy boom in India, South Africa is laying out stricter rules for foreigners looking to make families here.

Last month a court in Pretoria set out guidelines for foreigners looking to hire a surrogate mother in South Africa. In 2010, a new child welfare law made it tougher for foreigners to adopt.

The overall message is that children born in South Africa are better off in their own country, and foreigners need to show a commitment to living here if they want to use South Africans to help them make a family.

In the case last month, a Dutch and Danish couple won permission to use a surrogate. In the ruling, the court in Pretoria laid out guidelines that will now direct how future cases will be resolved.

Surrogacy has been legal in South Africa since 2006, and the constitution guarantees equal protection for gays, which courts have routinely cited in allowing same-sex couples to adopt or use surrogates.

For foreigners, the ruling essentially means that they must intend to stay in South Africa long-term. The couple involved in the case intends to settle here permanently, the court ruling said.

"If you are a French person or a foreigner here only for six months, it is not going to work, unless you live in South Africa for an indefinite period," said Anthony William, the attorney who represented the couple.

"This judgement is important because it sets the parameters and the guidelines."

South African law specifically prohibits commercial surrogacy. The court cast a wary eye on India, where the practise was allowed in 2002, creating an "assisted reproductive" industry that in 2008 was valued at $450 million a year.

-- Altruistic, not commercial reasons --

This has attracted families from wealthier countries who hire Indian surrogates for far less than the process would cost in their home nations -- something South Africa is keen to avoid.

"Most countries prohibit commercial surrogacy, with India being the prominent exception," the ruling said.

The court warned that "particularly in countries such as ours with deep socio-economic disparities and prevalence of poverty, that the possibility of abuse of underprivileged women is a real and ever-present danger".

Every surrogacy agreement in South Africa requires approval from a court that must find the arrangement was reached "for altruistic rather than commercial reasons", the court said.

Surrogate mothers can only receive money to pay for expenses related to the pregnancy, such as health insurance or maternity clothes, said Jennifer Currie, founder of the Baby-2 Mom agency, which specialises in egg donations.

The rules have also been tightened for foreigners seeking to adopt.

Since a new child welfare law was passed last year, foreigners are required to live in South Africa for five years before they can adopt -- even though South Africa has 1.9 million AIDS orphans.

Most of those children are absorbed into extended families or communities and are not housed in institutions. Only about 600 are considered "legally adoptable", with just 200 children legally adopted last year, according to official figures.

The new law was drafted as Madonna was adopting her second child in Malawi, stirring controversy about wealthy foreigners taking home African children.

South Africa wants children to have a relationship "with their familiar cultural, physical and extended family environs before looking to adoption within the country or outside the country," said Seamus Mac Roibin, a child protection specialist for UNICEF, the UN children's agency.

Countries: France, Netherlands, South Africa

Malawi: Homosexuals barred from adopting children (and stronger laws)

Malawi: Homosexuals barred from adopting children

1.
Posted on Wednesday 12 October 2011 - 10:18
Chancy
* Profile
* 1 messages
Chancy Namadzunda, AfricaNews reporter in Lilongwe, Malawi
The Malawi's Special Law Commission has barred homosexuals from adopting children, according to recommendations in the report released by the special commission which was entitled to review the Adoption of Children Act.
homosexuals
The report has put homosexuals among persons of unsound mind within the meaning of Mental Health Act, persons convicted of any offense set out in the schedule and a person who has been declared unsuitable or prohibited by a court of competent jurisdiction from working with children, as those prohibited to adopt.

Commissioner Aubrey Mvula justified the barring of homosexuals saying the body recognizes that he relationship of man and woman constitutes a marriage.

"We recognize the need to provide stable upbringing of the child and homosexuals are not proffered direction in adoption. We will not allow our children to be adopted by those practicing criminal acts in nature.

"A normal life is seen in a family that is stable, that is a union between a man and a woman as provided by the constitution," said Mvula.

Adoption laws in Malawi were widely questioned by human rights activist when the Pop Star Madonna adopted David Banda and later Mercy James, in a battle which was determined by the country's courts.

The Adoption of Children Act was enacted by the colonial masters in
1949 and had a lot of loopholes in it.

"Technologies of globalization such as internet and easier and faster movement of people across borders have fuelled the cross-transferring of ideas, cultures and social behaviours which have in turn have a great effect on traditional and conventional conceptualizations of the good and bad.

"As regards the bad, we as a country suddenly find ourselves faced with rising cases of child trafficking, child slavery and shopping from within and beyond Malawi,” he said.

The legislation has also bars a sole male applicant to adopt a female child likewise a sole female applicant to adopt a male child.

The legislation has also stiff penalties for flouting adoption regulations including a seven year jail sentence and K1 million fines for profiting from adoption.

One could be sentences three years in jail for holding back information from authorities and could also be ordered to a pay a fine of K500, 000.00.

The law also punishes advertisement of children for adoption by a prison sentence of seven years.

“Interfering with the child’s upbringing is punishable by a fine of K200, 000.00. Tampering of documents will attract a seven-year sentence,” Malawi’s special Law Commission chairperson Judge Esmie Chombo said of the punishments.

The Judge also disclosed that processing of inter-country adoption by any unauthorized agencies will attract a fine that will range from K500, 000 and K2 million.

The proposed law will go for a legal scrutiny at the ministry of justice before being presented to cabinet and then to parliament for approval.

Countries: Malawi