Nearly forty years after Jyoti Weststrate (41) was given as a 'gift' to a priest, she is receiving something that has never happened before. An international Catholic organization is offering the Deventer woman an apology for her adoption.

Niek Verhoeven

11 november 2025, 16:01•Laatste update: 18:39

The apology from the Jesuit Order, an international Catholic organization, feels like a breakthrough for Jyoti Weststrate (41). She finally receives recognition for the injustice done to her.

- Agreement opens the path for preserving adoption records in specialized archival facilities -

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, Minister Jeong Eun Kyeong), the National Archives of Korea (President Lee Yong-chul), and the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC, President Chung Ick-joong) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday, October 10, at 4:30 p.m. at the Seongnam Branch of the National Archives of Korea to ensure the secure preservation and systematic management of adoption records. 

The agreement was initiated to establish a national-level specialized management system that ensures the secure and systematic preservation of adoption records, which were transferred to the NCRC following the July 19 enforcement of the government-led adoption system. Prior to this, the National Archives inspected storage conditions at the temporary facility in Goyang, where the records had been kept. Based on those inspections and subsequent discussions among the institutions, a cooperative framework was developed.

A team excavating at the site of a former Irish mother-and-baby institution have found seven sets of what they believe to be infant remains.

The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT) began their mass excavation of the burial site in Tuam, County Galway, with the objective of identifying the remains of children and babies. 

It is currently unclear whether the bones they have uncovered date back to when the institution was open or from an earlier period. 

St Mary's Home operated from 1925 until 1961 and was run by the Bon Secours Sisters. Pregnant women out of wedlock were kept away in the home and post-birth, newborns were often given up for adoption. 

The home came under international controversy in 2014 after local historian Catherine Corless noticed there were no burial records accounting for the 796 death certificates of the infants who died there. 

The woman also said that she had earned Rs 10 lakh by working during her holidays but her foster mother took away all her money due to which she was unable to return to her own country.

BHUBANESWAR: A 21-year-old Odia woman adopted by an American couple has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi alleging she was facing harassment at the hands of her foster mother and two murder attempts had also been made on her.

In two separate video messages in Odia and English, the woman further requested the chief minister to facilitate her return journey to Odisha. In the video, the woman said her passport was valid from 2018 to 2023. However, even after the expiry of her passport, her foster mother was not arranging the required documents for her return journey, she alleged.

“I was staying and studying at a hostel in Bhubaneswar and was very happy. Since I came to America, I am not happy at all. My foster mother forces me to do a lot of household work after I return from school,” the woman said, breaking down in tears. She claimed that two murder attempts had been made on her in the United States. “I am a Hindu but my foster mother is forcing me to change my faith,” she further alleged.

The woman also said that she had earned Rs 10 lakh by working during her holidays but her foster mother took away all her money due to which she was unable to return to her own country. She requested the chief minister to facilitate her return journey to Odisha at the earliest so that she can find her parents with whom she got separated several years back.

Bhubaneswar, Nov 9: A heart-wrenching video shared by a young girl named Puja, originally from Odisha, has sparked concern after she alleged severe abuse by her adoptive mother in the United States.

 The video, recorded on a home computer and sent to her childhood friend Amar Nayak in Balasore, shows Puja in tears, pleading for help.

 Puja, now known as Sejal John in the US, was adopted by an American couple in 2018 from a Bhubaneswar-based NGO named Divine Path.

 Her journey began tragically when she was separated from her biological parents during a train journey in Odisha. She was later placed in Nilgiri Balikashram in Balasore by child welfare officials.

Eventually, Puja was transferred to Divine Path, where she was adopted and taken to the US. While her adoption was seen as a new beginning, her recent video reveals a disturbing reality. She alleges that her adoptive mother has been subjecting her to unspeakable abuse.

As both sides are demanding that amount, it was not given to anybody. Even the death certificate could not be issued.

Kendrapara, Odisha:

The dead, Namita, was the biological daughter of Ranjan Mai and Rupali Mai of Ostia village. She was later legally adopted by Ratnakar Das and Mamata Das of Gopaljewpatana village.

As both sides are demanding that amount, it was not given to anybody. Even the death certificate could not be issued.

"We will provide the money to the legally eligible parents," Rajnagar Tehsildar Ashiwini Kumar Bhuyan said.

BHUBANESWAR: A 21-year-old US-based woman has accused her adoptive parents of torturing her and forcing her to convert to Christianity, reports Hemanta Pradhan. She has sought Odisha CM Mohan Majhi's help to return to India, claiming her life is in danger in the US.
 

In a video posted on social media, the woman, adopted at 14 by an American couple in 2018, said she could no longer bear the harassment. "They want me to accept Christianity, but as a Hindu, I cannot. My life is in danger," she said, alleging her adoptive mother made her do household chores without giving her food.

"It is my request to Odisha govt to take me home. I am still an Indian girl and not happy in the US," she added.

Officials who saw the social media post contacted the State Adoption Resource Agency and Central Adoption Resource Authority. "They will act as per rules," Balasore collector Suryawanshi Mayur Vikas said, adding SARA has informed MEA.
 

A Family for Every Child: International Adoption of American Children in the Netherlands

Hans VanHooffHans van Hooff

Legal Advisor, Fiom and Coordinator, International Social Service (ISS) Netherlands

Summary: Social and political changes are resulting in an increase in the number of American children adopted in the Netherlands.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Last year ACT wrote to the Dutch Minister of Justice to inform him about the serious conflict of interest that the FIOM-ISS has regarding the roots-searches of adoptees.

Note about FIOM/ISS

15 November 2019

The Ministry of Justice considers the involvement of the FIOM in the planning of the funding for organisations which execute searches for adoptees for their families in the sending countries.

This non-exhaustive note points towards a number of conflicts of interest and other concerns.

Nieuwsblad van het Noorden

25-04-1973

Vooruitzichten somber voor adoptie kinderen

De kans om een kind te kunnen adopteren is bijzonder klein geworden. Terwijl enerzijds het aantal kinderen dat voor adoptie beschikbaar komt sterk daalt, neemt het aantal ouderparen die kinderen wil aannemen Juist sterk toe. Er zijn momenteel 4368 echtparen ingeschreven die kinderen willen aannemen. Maar dit jaar komen slechts 300 Nederlandse kinderen (en nog minder uit het buitenland) voor adoptie beschikbaar.

De waarschuwing tegen al te groot optimisme bij het adopteren van kinderen is afkomstig van de Nederlandse Federatie van Instellingen voor de Ongehuwde Moeder en Haar Kind (FIOM).
Van de in Nederland geboren en bij' adoptieouders geplaatste kinderen is 90 procent afkomstig van ongehuwde moeders. Tot en met 1970 kwamen daarvan jaarlijks 750 kinderen voor adoptie beschikbaar. Daarna liep het aantal snel terug tot 396 in 1972. In 1973 zullen naar men verwacht, nog slechts 300 ongehuwde moeders in ons land hun kind laten adopteren. Volgens de directeur van de FIOM, drs. R. G. Deibel, konden in het afgelopen jaar nog 250 kinderen uit het buitenland (voornamelijk uit Korea en Griekenland) door Nederlandse ouders worden geadopteerd, maar die mogelijkheid gaat sterk verminderen.