Home  

Sisters relieved to have Haitian orphans in Pa.

Sisters relieved to have Haitian orphans in Pa.

The Associated Press

Updated: 01/21/2010 10:20:23 PM EST

PITTSBURGH—Two sisters who helped bring 54 orphans from earthquake-ravaged Haiti to Pittsburgh say they haven't had time to stop and think about what happened.

Jamie and Ali McMutrie say they're just thankful that all the children are safe and sound.

What the U.S.A. Should Do About Haiti Earthquake Orphans

What the U.S.A. Should Do About Haiti Earthquake Orphans

Posted on January 21, 2010 by prairieguy

I have in the past few days been sharing stories found on the Internet about babies/children being orphaned due to the tragic earthquake on January 12th.

Serving on the Board of Directors & as Regional Manager for North America on behalf of World Initiative for Orphans I feel I must write my personal feelings on this subject and potential solutions to the crisis.

I am happy our government responded to the 200-300 orphans who already had adoptive families awaiting them in the United States. The State Department is allowing these adoptees to come into the U.S. even with the necessary paperwork being lost due to the earthquake. The Netherlands has also responded to this crisis flying 100 children to their country in the same fashion.

No Haitian Children for Adoption in Finland

No Haitian Children for Adoption in Finland

published Jan 20 07:30 PM, updated Jan 21 07:15 AM

Girl being fed at a hospital in Haiti.

An injured girl being cared for at a field hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Image: EPA/ Logan Abassi/ YK

Adoptions need to quadruple, says outgoing Barnardo's chief

Adoptions need to quadruple, says outgoing Barnardo's chief
Martin Narey blames prejudice for decline and criticises 'inordinate' length of court processes
21 January 2010
         
Outgoing Barnardo's chief Martin Narey says too many local authorities are 'antipathetic' towards adoption. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
Britain is facing a dangerous collapse in adoption rates because of the prejudiced attitudes of some local authorities and adoption agencies towards white parents adopting minority ethnic children, according to Martin Narey, the outgoing chief executive of Barnardo's.
The adoption rate of babies must increase fourfold, and the numbers of toddlers and older children placed with new families must also increase dramatically, he said in an interview to mark his resignation from the charity he has run for more than five years.
He said adoption was at a historic low and had all but disappeared for babies, despite being a "vital tool in the child protection armoury", particularly for under-ones. "Only 70 babies were adopted last year compared with 4,000 in 1976. We need that figure to get back into the thousands so we need to quadruple it over the next few years – and quadruple it again," he said..
Narey said the collapse in the use of adoption was perplexing. Citing evidence that it offers the best outcomes for children, he said: " Early adoptions are particularly successful and yet it remains out of fashion."
He accused local authorities and adoption agencies of thwarting the law through a reluctance to allow white couples to adopt children from different ethnic backgrounds. The "prejudice" was so entrenched he feared it would not be easily reversed.
He said: "The law is very clear. A child should not stay in care for an undue length of time while waiting for adoptive parents of the same ethnicity. But the reality is that black, Asian and mixed-race children wait three times longer than white children." Narey's comments come in the same week a survey revealed widespread poor practice among adoption agencies. The Adoption UK research found that prospective parents are frequently unfairly rejected or forced to endure waits of up to six months after their initial inquiry, three times longer than legislation demands.
However, Narey said he was pleased that it was now increasingly accepted that children should be taken into care if they were living in "horrific situations".
He pointed to the cases of Shannon Matthews, the nine-year-old kidnapped by her own mother in 2008 to make money, and Baby P, Peter Connelly, who died at the hands of his mother, her lover and a lodger, as being key in changing public and political opinion towards care.
Babies should be removed at birth from those who have had children removed in the past, he said, and who have been unwilling or unable to grasp the deficiencies in their parenting skills.
"Too many social workers and senior people in local authorities are at best antipathetic towards adoption and at worst believe it to be an entirely unreasonable intervention," he said.
He said attitudes needed to change towards adoption. "We know adoption is far and away the most effective intervention we can make for a child. If we are absolutely clear that a child will be significantly better off if they are taken away from their parents, then we have to do that," he added. "Contrary to popular belief, being in care makes things better for children. Adoption transforms life chances."
But, Narey added, even when social workers make early interventions, court processes mean that adoptions commonly take more than two years to complete. "The legal process takes an inordinate amount of time, largely because courts repeatedly adjourn until they have taken a very large number of expert assessments that say the same thing," he said.
Narey, who will be replaced by Anne Marie Carrie, the former deputy chief executive of the Kensington and Chelsea family and children's services,, said his years at the charity had been "the happiest of my working life" but criticised the voluntary sector as being frequently "impractical", "naive" and "very irritating indeed".
"The voluntary sector tends to assume it has the monopoly on compassion and is very sanctimonious," he said. "It can also be hugely and damagingly unrealistic about what can be done in the real world, indulging in perpetual carping and criticism of the government, which ceases to listen to them as a result.
"While some people in the sector are remarkable, I find the unpragmatic attitudes of most within it, very irritating indeed," he added.
Next week will be Narey's last because, he said, he wants to get his professional and personal lives back into balance: while he has spent his weekdays over the past five and a half years living in a small, shared flat owned by Barnardo's situated behind their offices in Barkingside, north-east London, his wife has remained in the family home 280 miles away in Whitby, Yorkshire.

Dutch Airlift Brings 123 Haitian Orphans to Netherlands for Adoption

Dutch Airlift Brings 123 Haitian  Orphans to Netherlands for Adoption

"It feels magnificent," said Roel Eefting as he videoed the newly adopted son  he had met minutes earlier.

Jersen was one of 123 children, aged from two months to seven years , flown  into this southern Dutch city Thursday. They arrived on a plane chartered by the  Dutch government and two adoption agencies to airlift  children out of Haiti to new lives in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Wrapped in blankets against the cold of a Dutch midwinter, the children  walked or were carried one by one from the Boeing 767 to a bus that ferried them  to the terminal of Eindhoven Military Air Base. There they had an emotional  private meeting with their new families.

One boy waved to reporters and said a word that sounded like "Dag" — Dutch  for hello. Another wore striped socks and no shoes. Graying piles of snow lined  the edge of the tarmac.

None of the children was hurt in last week's earthquake. But Macky Schouten,  head of the Netherlands Adoption Foundation, said it was difficult getting them  from their orphanages in Haiti to the choked Port-Au-Prince airport.

"They had to come from different houses in a situation that was very  dangerous," she said.

The children were accompanied on the flight by medics and psychologists  trained to deal with post traumatic stress, Schouten said.

The children slept through most of the flight. Then, two and a half hours  from Eindhoven, they woke up, had a meal and a drink — and started doing what  kids do the world over.

"It was a big playground in the plane," Schouten said.

The quake may have killed 200,000 people, and it left thousands of children  orphaned. That triggered a rush of inquiries from around the world about adopting a child from the impoverished Caribbean country — which before the quake already had about 380,000 orphans in need of homes.

Experts have warned against taking newly orphaned children out of Haiti or  rushing adoption procedures. UNICEF said it was working to prevent children  being abused and exploited and to reunite them with family members.

Earlier this week, 54 orphans arrived in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh. They  were given medical care and placed in group homes until adoptions are  finalized.

Most of the children who arrived in the Netherlands had already been matched  with new parents. Some — like Jersen — were being introduced to them for the  first time.

Nine had been approved for adoption but not yet matched with families; they  will be placed in foster care until parents are found. Fourteen were going into  the care of Luxembourg's adoption authorities.

Some of the children speak a little Dutch, having had daily lessons in a  Dutch-run orphanage in Haiti.

Eefting said he and his partner, Imelda Hutten, started the adoption process  four and a half years ago. They were close to traveling to Haiti to pick up  Jersen when the quake struck.

As Jersen started settling into his new family, his father's joy was tempered  by news that two Dutch couples were killed in the quake, along with the  three Haitian children they had just adopted.

"We are happy, but at the same time we are very aware of the sorrow for  people who adopted children and died and the people who died in Haiti," he said.  "It puts this into perspective."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583549,00.html#ixzz1dCfhcl6n

Unicef: 'Pas op voor overhaaste adopties'

Unicef: 'Pas op voor overhaaste adopties'

Extra

Dankzij aardbeving komt onze Mano al over twee weken'

Cruisepassagiers ruziën over aanleggen aan Haïtiaanse stranden

Nog weken speuren naar Belgen

Haiti: World Vision fordert ein Adoptionsmoratorium

Haiti: World Vision fordert ein Adoptionsmoratorium

Dübendorf — Der Kinderschutz in Haiti muss oberste Priorität haben. Viele Kinder sind noch auf der Suche nach Verwandten. World Vision appelliert an die Regierung von Haiti, ein temporäres Adoptionsverbot zu erlassen, damit Familien zusammengeführt werden können.

tri / Quelle: World Vision / Freitag, 22. Januar 2010 / 14:38 h

Zudem errichtet das Hilfswerk Kinderbetreuungszentren, in denen verwaiste und umherirrende Kinder betreut werden.

Der Schutz von Kindern im Katastrophengebiet von Haiti hat für World Vision oberste Priorität. Zum Schutz von Kindern im Erdbebengebiet sprechen World Vision Mitarbeiter elternlose und Hilfe suchende Kinder an.

SF vil stoppe adoptioner fra Indien

SF vil stoppe adoptioner fra Indien

Danmark bør stoppe adoption fra Indien, indtil forholdene er undersøgt til bunds, kræver SF. Indisk politi mener, at forældre franarres deres børn til adoption.

SF vil stoppe adoptioner af indiske børn til Danmark, indtil det er grundigt undersøgt, om forældre i Indien bliver franarret deres børn til adoption.

Det siger partiets retsordfører, Karina Lorentzen, efter nye oplysninger i DR-programmet 21 Søndag. Heraf fremgik det, at indisk forbundspoliti mener, at et børnehjem i Indien har narret børnene fra en indisk mand, hvorefter børnene blev adopteret til Danmark.

- Oplysningerne har skabt så megen usikkerhed omkring indiske adoptioner, at det er uholdbart at gennemføre flere, før vi har vished for, at det kan foregå på en betryggende måde, siger Karina Lorentzen.

Hun vil bede justitsminister Lars Barfoed (K) undersøge sagen og tage stilling til, om der skal indføres et midlertidigt stop for adoptioner fra Indien.

Tv-programmet fortalte historien allerede i 2007, hvorefter Familiestyrelsen lukkede for adoption fra Indien. Men en undersøgelse kom frem til, at manden godt var klar over, at børnene blev bortadopteret. Derfor blev der igen åbnet for adoption fra Indien.

Nu bakker det indiske forbundspoliti ifølge 21 Søndag op om manden. Efter at Ramesh Kulkarnis kone døde, afleverede han for otte år siden sine børn på børnehjemmet Preet Mandir. Ifølge manden selv skulle børnene kun være midlertidigt på børnehjemmet, indtil han igen kunne tage sig af dem.

Men han kom aldrig til at se dem igen, for de blevet adopteret til Danmark. De papirer, som Kulkarni skrev under, viste sig nemlig at handle om bortadoption og ikke indskrivning på børnehjemmet, som manden troede.

/ritzau/

Chances for Children Launches 'Haiti Renewal Fund' With $2 Million From Foster Friess

Chances for Children Launches 'Haiti Renewal Fund' With $2 Million From Foster Friess

 

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                         
Media Contact: Tripp Baltz
303-358-3371 
ab3@comcast.net 

 

Chances for Children Launches 'Haiti Renewal Fund'
With $2 Million From Foster Friess

PHOENIX, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  While emergency efforts bring immediate relief to Haiti, Craig Juntunen, founder of Chances for Children, launched the “Haiti Renewal Fund” January 19. The fund, designed to assist in a fresh renewal of the devastated nation of Haiti, opens with an initial matching grant of $2 million from Jackson Hole residents Lynn and Foster Friess.

“In a few weeks or months the enormous worldwide relief effort in Haiti will meet food, water and shelter needs, but what then?” said Juntunen, who will be raising additional monies for the fund.
 
Juntunen’s Chances for Children foundation operates an orphanage near Port-au-Prince and last year placed 36 Haitian orphans in adoptive families. It will expand to meet the soaring number of newly-orphaned children and also encourage Cure International, an organization that operates hospitals in nearby Dominican Republic and Honduras, in its goal to open a new children’s hospital in Haiti. 

Water Mission International adds water purification units to the equation. Phoenix attorney, sculptor and Cure International board member Marilyn Quayle; her husband former Vice President Dan Quayle and “Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl Ladd will advise Georgia-based National Christian Foundation, the fund administrator, on allocation of funds.

“So much well-intentioned funding is wasted in corruption and institutional overhead,” said Juntunen who serves without salary. “We are grateful for the oversight of these compassionate individuals and for the long track records of success and fiscal responsibility of the charities involved.” 

Juntunen authored Both Ends Burning, chronicling his personal transformation from a self-serving life to adopting three young children from Haiti in 2006 with his wife Kathi: Espie, Quinn and Amelec, who turned nine January 16th. 

To have someone like Craig who knows all the players because of his love of and involvement in Haiti "creates a real marriage made in heaven," Friess said.
 
Checks written to “Haiti Renewal Fund/NCF” may be sent to the National Christian Foundation, 11625 Rainwater Drive, Suite 500, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 or by clicking here to donate online at http://www.haitirenewal.org. 

BIOS: 

Craig Juntunen founded Chances for Children with proceeds of sale of his successful business and also fundraised for a college scholarship fund, the Special Olympics and other local and regional charities. He quarterbacked a Canadian Football League team and is a member of the State of Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Foster Friess founded the Brandywine Funds and since selling his firm in 2001 encourages private sector solutions in order to curb increasing intrusiveness of government. Foster and his wife Lynn of 47 years through their Friess Family Foundation fund water purification units in Malawi and mobile medical vans for the medically underserved. 

WEB SITES for more information: 

Haiti Renewal Fund: http://www.haitirenewal.org 
Chances for Children: http://www.chances4children.org/c4c/ 
Foster Friess Foundation: http://www.fosterfriess.com 

SOURCE Chances for Children

Contact information: craigmjuntunen@yahoo.com ; foster@fosterfriess.com and Tripp Baltz atab3@comcast.net

Kouchner : 276 enfants haïtiens en voie d'adoption rapatriés en France

 

Kouchner : 276 enfants haïtiens en voie d'adoption rapatriés en France

 

20.01.2010
 a déclaré, mercredi, devant l'Assemblée nationale, que 276 enfants haïtiens en voie d'adoption par des familles françaises seraient ramenés en France «le plus vite possible». Dans la matinée, c'est , secrétaire d'Etat à la Famille, qui a annoncé sur RMC que «dès cette semaine» des enfants «pourront être rapatriés» d'Haïti, mais en évoquant le chiffre de «23 qui ont un dossier parfaitement en règle». «Il y a exactement 904 dossiers d'adoption enregistrés par le service de l'adoption et deux tiers de ces procédures sont des procédures individuelles», a déclaré pour sa part le ministre des Affaires étrangères, en réponse à la question de la députée Chantal Bourragué (UMP). Parmi toutes les procédures d'adoption par des familles françaises, «276 sont au stade du jugement», a-t-il précisé. «Ceux-là, les 276, nous allons les rapatrier en France le plus vite possible, c'est-à-dire immédiatement, et les autres, nous nous en occuperons un par un avec toute l'attention nécessaire», a déclaré le ministre. Un peu plus tard dans l'après-midi, le premier ministre  s'est montré plus mesuré, indiquant que la France allait «essayer» de ramener tous les enfants haïtiens pour lesquels des décisions d'adoption en faveur de couples français avaient été prises.   Morano : des enfants rapatriés «dès cette semaine» Dans la situation de «chaos» actuelle, la priorité du gouvernement français, «c'est d'abord de s'occuper de la sécurité et de la santé des enfants» sur place et dont beaucoup sont blessés, avait expliqué ce mercredi matin Nadine Morano sur RMC. Mais «on peut dire que dès cette semaine il y aura des enfants qui pourront être rapatriés, uniquement» pour des «dossiers d'adoption qui sont déjà aboutis, où les parents ont déjà entre les mains un jugement d'adoption», donc avec un «dossier régulier et en accord avec les autorités haïtiennes», a-t-elle poursuivi. La secrétaire d'Etat à la Famille a précisé que six personnes avaient été envoyées mardi en Haïti, sous l'autorité du ministère des Affaires étrangères, pour «examiner la situation très précise de ces enfants et la situation très précise des orphelinats sur place». Et s'assurer «que nous ne sommes pas dans le cas d'enlèvements d'enfants», ni dans un «cas d'ambiguïté administrative». Le ministère saturé d'appels Nadine Morano a annoncé qu'«en lien avec le président de l'Unicef», la France «va soutenir le développement de centres de protection de l'enfance sur place» pour «assurer la sécurité et le soin de ces enfants», avec des crédits spécialement dédiés en plus des 10 millions d'euros déjà octroyés à l'Onu. Selon elle, son «ministère est saturé d'appels téléphoniques» de parents aux dossiers non aboutis ou de parents avec «un agrément d'adoption» qui «souhaiteraient ramener au plus vite des enfants». «Nous ne pouvons pas faire ça», car «nous devons prendre le temps nécessaire de trouver un membre de leur famille», a-t-elle expliqué. D'après elle, Haïti était le premier pays d'adoption pour la France.  

leparisien.fr