Deborah was brought to the Netherlands from Sri Lanka together with her twin brother. At least, that was the story. At the age of fifteen, she discovers that her alleged twin brother is not related to her at all. The real twin sister was too sick to fly, so two very young children were hastily swapped.

Deborah's fight to put this right appears to finally be coming to an end this summer. 

By Jeroen Pen

Deborah Hageman was adopted in 1985 and left Sri Lanka for the Netherlands. She is one of many: thousands of fellow sufferers travel the same route. The demand for adopted children rose to a record high at the end of the last century. There is a lot of money to be made from Sri Lankan babies and toddlers, so the supply should not lag behind. In a short time, an industry is created in which shrewd and malicious intermediaries call the shots. There is widespread tampering and fraud with birth data and adoption documents. Blinded by their desire to have children, Dutch adoptive parents turn a blind eye, or worse.

Something continues to gnaw at them, they are still too young to put their finger on it, but many of them feel that their adoption story is not right. Once the adopted children become teenagers, adolescents and adults, they start exploring. With often drastic consequences.

In a shocking incident reported from India’s eastern state of West Bengal, a couple sold their eight-month-old baby for 200,000 Indian rupees or $2,400. The bizarre development is said to be from the state’s North 24 Parganas district.

A police investigation is going on, and the child’s mother, named Sathi, has already been arrested. However, the father of the baby, named Jaydev, is absconding.

How did they get caught?

Interestingly, it was the couple’s neighbours who sounded the alarm. Their neighbours in the Panihati Gandhinagar area grew suspicious after they noted the child’s absence and the sudden change in the couple’s behaviour.

A six-year-old boy's life was permanently changed in a wonderful and emotional moment as he happily welcomed the news of his adoption. The poignant scenario portrayed the joy and pleasure of finding a permanent family. Finding a loving and permanent family remains a pipe dream for many foster children. However, that goal became a reality for one young kid, bringing joy and smiles to all who watched the poignant scene. 

This is the best reaction to being adopted you'll ever see. 

Harvey, six, of Smithfield, North Carolina, had been with his foster parents, Brian and Megan Raby, since he was two. Harvey's happiest place was, without a doubt, their home. However, like any foster child, he had an unspoken desire to know he had a permanent family. 

Fortunately, his foster parents shared his feelings towards Harvey. As a result, they secretly agreed to adopt him. They informed him of the wonderful news after it was official, and his reaction was amazing!

Humankind's Facebook page has shared the video, which is surely a watch for everyone. The clip is captioned by saying, 'When you come home, you come home. A foster child is overjoyed to learn that he has been adopted.'
 

Debra Lynn Murphy-Scheumann, 66, of Spring Hill, passed away on October 20, 2020 at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

She was born on July 27, 1954 to Kenneth and Beverly (Shaffer) Murphy in Newton, Iowa. She was the second child born into the family. As a child she was raised with her family around Dike, Iowa, where she received her high school diploma. She would later receive a Bachelor and Master’s Degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Debra held many hats during her working years and all those occupations included helping others. She was a nurse, magistrate, social worker, professor, director of several non-profit organizations and eventually founded a non-profit organization called Special Additions, Inc. Debra truly had a heart of gold and loved children and wanted all children to have a family. In September of 1993 she opened Special Additions, an adoption agency that specialized in special needs and international adoptions. During her time at Special Additions, Debra served as Executive Director and placed over 850 children in forever homes. She also served on a National Board where she would travel to Washington, DC to advocate for the children. She opened children’s homes in Romania (Deb’s House) and Moldova. In September of 2001, she received the Angel in Adoption Award which meant the world to her. Debra and her husband Brent were also foster parents to many children over a 20 year time span.

Debra married Brent Scheuman on June 4, 1983. Debra’s family meant the world to her and it is evident that she instilled the importance of family in her own family.

Debra leaves behind her loving husband, Brent; 4 daughters, Guri (Samuel) Sanders, Charity (Jeff) Bennett, Allison Scheumann, and Georgianna Pahon; 7 sons, Shannon (Brianna) Morrow, Joshua (Julie) Morrow, Austin Scheumann, Alex Scheumann, Derek Scheumann, Kyle Scheumann and Lukas Scheumann; loving mother; Beverly Murphy; one sister, Pamela (Gary) Stumberg; one brother, Kent (Vicki) Murphy; 2 brother-in-laws, Todd (Traci) Scheumann and Brian Scheumann; 13 grandchildren, Josh, Kirsten, Audrey, Nathan and Sydney Bennett; Erik, Gabe, Leo Sanders; Addison, Caden and Brynley Morrow; Brody and Landen Morrow; and so many more family and friends.

Deb is preceded in death by her loving father, Kenneth Murphy and her grandparents Lester and Bertine Shaffer and Loren and Gladys Murphy.

A memorial service will be held for the family on November 6th at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Leawood, Kansas.

A celebration of life will be held on November 7th from 2:00-7:00 pm at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Leawood, Kansas. This will be open to the public.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to contribute to a memorial bench at the Overland Park Arboretum for family and friends to remember Debra. In addition, additional monies will be donated to TLC, a foster care organization that Brent and Deb used to help many foster children. Please send any memorials to Brent Scheumann 19712 Norton St., Spring Hill KS 66083-8448, or:
PayPal: DebMemorialFund@hotmail.com
Venmo: @Brent-Scheumann



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Hello, Issue 12/ June 2023 IACN QUARTERLY Catch up on the latest updates on webinars, trainings and conferences from our network Updates from the Field Learnings and experience shared by our fellow members Events and Announcements + Role of Master Trainers in Transforming Family-Based Alternative Care in India | Minu Kumari, DCPU, Purnea District, Bihar Voices from the Field Strengthening Communities, Preventing Family Separation | Anita Sinha, Child in Need Institute Railway Children India’s Early Gatekeeping Efforts | Lopamudra Mullick, Railway Children India Case Study: Aftercare Group Homes at Snehalaya | Joyce Connolly, Snehalaya Kinship Care to Ensure Safe Childhood in Gujarat- Meenal’s Story | Shilpa Vaishnav, Samvedna Trust, Hemalee Leuva and Muhammed Afsal.K.K, UNICEF, Gujarat Family-based Care Solutions through Foster Care | Dr. Shilpa Mehta, Devashish Mishra and Shivani Singhvi, Foster Care Society Bal Panchayat (Children's Parliament): The Journey of Child Participation in the Community-Level Prevention Project in Gujarat | Sonal Chauhan and Geeta Desai, Miracle Foundation India Ensuring Child Participation: Assessment Tool for Children in Residential Care | Gurneet K. Kalra, Udayan Care Faith for Children - Stories of Inspiration from Tamil Nadu | Changing the Way We Care Team, Catholic Relief Services Webinar: Gatekeeping as a Systematic Process: Preventing Child’s Separation |IACN andMiracle Foundation India Advancing Family Strengthening and Family-Based Alternative Care: Key Outcomes of the Deliberation Meeting with Stakeholders| Miracle Foundation India Graduation and Induction Event - Learning in Fellowship Together | Udayan Care 5th Biennial International Conference on Alternative Care for Children in Asia (BICON) | Udayan Care UNICEF/UN0377847 PHOTO CREDITS: RAILWAY CHILDREN INDIA Assessment of Strategies to Develop Resilience in Children in a Residential Child Care Model of India ‘Kinship Care in India- A Case Study Documentation Dear Colleagues, We are happy to bring to you the 12th issue of the IACN Quarterly. It covers a range of family-based care interventions focused on facilitating the participation of children and strengthening gatekeeping mechanisms in the rural and urban contexts. Another write-up highlights work with faith-based organisations in protecting children and improving outcomes for families in need. The case studies demonstrate the effective implementation of non-institutional forms of alternative care, such as kinship care, foster care and aftercare in rehabilitating children without parental ties. The issue also brings out the role of Master Trainers in transforming family-based alternative care in India. Please check the Events and Announcements section to read about the webinar organised by IACN and Miracle Foundation India on Gatekeeping as a Systematic Process and important upcoming events. We appreciate everyone who helped make this newsletter edition possible. If you wish to share resources or information for the IACN website or quarterly or would like to discuss any issues of mutual concern, please reach out to us at iacnsecretariat@iacn.in. We look forward to your continued support. Sincerly, IACN Secretariat

(Key Findings at a Glance)

Report : India

Submitted to :
National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights,
th 5 Floor, Chanderlok Building,
36, Janpath,
New Delhi – 110001

It seems clear that adoption law reform won’t be a priority before the October general election. This will be bitterly disappointing for many New Zealanders.

Despite some significant progress, the Ministry of Justice has revised its timeline for delivering final proposals from the first half of this year to “in due course”. This means there is still no clear end in sight to what has already been a prolonged and frustrating process.

Most importantly, those touched by adoption – including extended families – continue to feel the enduring effects of the antiquated and outmoded Adoption Act 1955.

At the heart of the need for reform lies the “closed” form of adoption the law introduced. This has meant those adopted between 1955 and 1985 were prohibited from knowing their biological parents and family.

It wasn’t until the passing of the Adult Adoption Information Act in 1985 that adopted people (aged 20 or above) gained the right to seek identifying information about their biological parents.

Hundreds of traumatised children are thought to have lost their families in disaster

People in western Libya have rallied round to provide care and breastmilk for young children orphaned by the devastating floods that hit the coastal city of Derna on 10 September.

Hundreds of traumatised babies and young children are thought to have lost their parents in Derna, where whole neighbourhoods were wiped out after two dams broke.

“Infant children do not wish to use artificial feeding bottles, which forced us to search for breastfeeding mothers,” said Mona Alashi, a volunteer.

Nawal Alghazal, a 62-year-old resident of Benghazi, has started a campaign to collect breastmilk from women already breastfeeding their own children and distribute it to children whose mothers are dead or missing.

Inhoud Inleiding...............................................................................................................3 1. Missie/ visie .....................................................................................................4 1.2 Doelstelling ................................................................................................4 1.3 Strategie .....................................................................................................5 2. Huidige situatie ................................................................................................6 2.1 Activiteiten van de organisatie ....................................................................6 3. Toekomst.........................................................................................................7 3.1 Voorbeelden en ontwikkelingen ..................................................................7 4. Organisatie.......................................................................................................8 4.1 Bestuur .......................................................................................................8 4.2 Werknemers................................................................................................8 4.3 Organisatiestructuur ...................................................................................9 5. Financiën........................................................................................................10 5.1 Begroting..................................................................................................10 5.2 Uitgangspunt............................................................................................12 5.3 Beheer en besteding .................................................................................12

Alison Christiana was able to track down her history with the help of Banet, a group of Korean women supporting and helping Korean adoptees

Alison Christiana, aged 40, is being reunited with her family 38 years after she was sent to the US for adoption at the age of 2.
Christiana said Wednesday she was planning to visit Cheongju, a city in North Chungcheong Province, the next day to be reunited with her older brother. She managed to ultimately locate her family with the help of Cheongju municipal officials.

Christiana, who works as a photographer in California, has visited Korea twice since 2008 in the hope of tracking down her family.

Born in 1983, Christiana stayed at North Chungcheong Hope Center, a now-closed orphanage in Cheongju, from May to October 1985. That November, she was sent to the US for adoption. The only adoption record in her possession listed her name as Lee Ja-yeong.

After various attempts to find her family turned up nothing, Christiana got in touch with Banet, a group that helps adoptees find their roots. Banet in turn asked the city of Cheongju for assistance.