Deborra-lee Furness pushes for more adoptions
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Deborra-lee Furness pushes for more adoptions
By Jessica Tapp
Posted 1 hour 49 minutes ago
Deborra-Lee Furness and husband Hugh Jackman have two adopted children. (Reuters)
Australian actor, director and producer Deborra-lee Furness has helped launch the second National Adoption Awareness Week (NAAW) in Sydney.
Furness, from Orphan Angels, and Dr Jane Aronson, the founder and chief executive of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, both spoke at the launch.
"We want to use the week to address our politicians and lobby for policy changes that will have a huge impact on the lives of so many people who are touched by adoption," Furness said.
"By opening up the discussion, we can remind our governments of their promise when they signed the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
"We are one of the most developed nations in the world and we have one of the lowest inter-country child adoption rates. It begs the question why we're not making a greater contribution to ... inter-country adoption."
Last year there were only 270 inter-country adoptions in Australia, the lowest in the world.
Australia does not have a census on adoptions, which makes it hard to see how diverse the group is, NAAW organisers say.
Ms Furness also touched on issue of foster care.
"There are 30,000 kids in foster care now. Let's do it better," she said.
"I think there needs to be someone that's bold enough to step up and facilitate a permanent family for these children that are kept within the foster care system. Forty-five percent of homeless youth come from foster care."
Need for adoption
Furness and her husband, actor Hugh Jackman, have two adopted children, and she stressed the global nature of adoption.
Sixty-one per cent of Australian adoptions are inter-country adoptions.
"Every child deserves a family. The reality is the world we live in has created the need for adoption," Furness said.
Dr Aronson, who is also an adoptive parent, said there was no reason for people to view age as a barrier to helping children.
"At 47, that's when I became a parent. It's never too late to be a global parent," she said.
Dr Aronson outlined some of the work done by organisations such as the Worldwide Orphans Foundation.
"We create programs that involve mental health services, education, health and we are involved with HIV-infected children in two countries, both Ethiopia and Vietnam," she said.
"We partner with non-government organisations and people who have charities. We work together to come to a common goal of helping children in their countries and in their communities."
Dr Aronson has two adopted sons, Benjamin from Vietnam and Desalegn from Ethiopia. Desalegn's name means "I am rejoicing".
"His name speaks for everything we believe in and everything we wish for children," she said.
"We wish for them to rejoice daily."
National Adoption Awareness Week finishes on 22 November.
Tags: arts-and-entertainment, popular-culture, adoption, federal-government