Russian Orphans Arrive
By TUQUYEN MACH
Reporter
Published: July 15, 2009
Ten Russian orphans are in Hilton Head on the adventure of a lifetime. At the end of the trip some of them will get to come back to the U.S. permanently, because some of the children’s host families intend to adopt them.
The State Department says Americans completed more than 17,000 international adoptions in fiscal year 2008. Guatemala topped the list with more than 4,100 children adopted from that country. China was second and Russia third in adoptions to the U.S.
Over the next three weeks, the kids will get to experience their first car ride, their first visit to a beach, and their first outings with their new families.
A big bedroom, a doll, and a loving home await 6 year-old Veronika in Hilton Head. Wendy and Scott Cummings say they’ve always wanted a fourth child.
“It’s a leap of faith. We don’t really know anything about her, except for she’s adorable. We know she’s ours,“ said Wendy.
“When this opportunity kind of came through the school, Wendy talked to me and we talked a little bit about it, and it was pretty clear cut that this was what we’re supposed to do,“ said Scott.
“I’m scared and excited at the same time,“ said 8 year-old Grey Anne, the youngest of the family’s 3 children.
The family says they’re ready for any challenges.
“Veronika speaks no English, and being that she’s only 6, they don’t start school until they’re 7. So she not only doesn’t speak English but does not read Russian,“ said Wendy.
“Trying to help one child get a better chance at life. We have so much here, if we can give a small portion of it to somebody else then that’s great,“ said Scott.
Finally, the moment they’ve been longing for at the Savannah airport, as they get to see Veronika for the first time.
They’ll spend the next few weeks getting to know each other, and the children who don’t have adoptive families yet will get to meet prospective parents.
“[We’re] having families come to the area from other states and from around this area who are interested in adopting to meet the kids and to get to know them a little bit and see if they may be a fit, to see if their families are a fit. Our goal is to find each of them a family before they go,“ said Christina Carr, director of Operation 127, the local sponsor of the trip.
The Cummings and some of the other families have already started the adoption process for four of the 10 visiting children. Through this program with International Guardian Angels Outreach, it will only take about two or three months before the adoption is complete and the kids will get to come home to their new families.