Blessing of Adoption: Adoption Day is worth the wait. International Day of Orphans: after all, it shouldn’t be like this in the world ... Foster families: care or love
The problem of abandoned and parentless children is relevant for the entire world community, including Ukraine, where every day about 50 newborn babies become orphans. Adopting someone else's child is a difficult and responsible step. The country has established a national holiday in honor of adoptive parents who have adopted non-native children into their families.
When is celebrated
Adoption Day is celebrated by the Ukrainian people on September 30, the day of the Orthodox holiday of the Great Martyrs Faith, Hope and Love and their mother Sophia. The event was established by Decree of the third President of the country V. Yushchenko No. 1088/2008 of November 27, 2008. In 2020, it is celebrated for the 12th time.
Who is celebrating
Adoption Day is celebrated not only in families raising adopted children, but also in all institutions that help orphans find a family: shelters and orphanages, guardianship and social protection agencies, adoption commissions.
history of the holiday
The event owes its existence to President V. Yushchenko, acting in 2008. By signing the relevant decree on the establishment of this date, the head of state once again drew the attention of the population to the existing problem of orphans. In his address on the occasion of the holiday, he called September 30 "a day of joy for thousands and thousands of girls and boys who found happiness in loving families."
About adoption
At different times and due to various circumstances, orphans were brought up by other new parents. Past and current foster families are different from each other. Over time, the living conditions, the perception of the world and the problems of orphanhood have changed. But the spark of hope and happiness in the eyes of foster children who have found a family will always burn.
Now, in addition to individual adoption, when childless parents or a single person take a child to raise, there are large families - the so-called family-type orphanages (a family with one, two or more children adopts one or more babies). In each case, the adoption process takes place in several stages. These are permanent commissions, the collection of all kinds of certificates, supporting and permitting documents, and many more difficult moments that await future parents.
The most difficult situation is with older children. Usually, babies and (or) babies up to 11 years old are chosen for adoption in small families. Teenagers tend to find it harder to find new parents.
Adoption statistics are becoming more positive every year, but against the backdrop of an increase in cases of abandonment of babies and deprivation of parental rights, it fades. People should pay attention to the animal world: in nature, there are cases when cats, along with their kittens, fed and cared for puppies and even chickens.
02/08/2019 The Ministry of Education will submit a draft law on changing the procedure for the adoption of minors to the Government .
On February 8, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation held hearings on the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Children's Rights." The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation T. Yu. Sinyugina.
During her speech, T. Yu. Sinyugina said that the department was ready to submit a bill on changing the procedure for the adoption of minors to the Government.
Over the course of six months, we met several times. And the reason for our meetings was an interested and indifferent conversation and work on the bill, which today is already ready for us to submit it to the Government, - said T. Yu. Sinyugina.
For reference
In December 2018, members of the Interdepartmental Working Group under the Ministry of Education of Russia prepared a draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Children’s Rights”. The bill was posted on the federal portal of draft regulations for wide public discussion.
The draft law contains new approaches to the transfer of orphans to families, which will allow developing the guardianship institution, improving the conditions for training people who want to take an orphan child into their family.
For the first time, the draft law proposes to introduce the concept of "escort" into federal legislation. It is planned that this authority will be vested in authorized regional authorities and organizations, including NGOs.
Special attention in the document is paid specifically to the adoption procedure, there is added a provision on the procedure for the restoration of adoptive parents in the duties of parents, if they were previously deprived of such an opportunity.
On December 23, 2019, the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall will host a solemn ceremony of awarding the laureates of the Moscow City Prize for their contribution to the development of the family placement of orphans "Stork Wings".
By order of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the City of Moscow, from November 27, 2019 to December 26, 2019 inclusive, a photo exhibition of foster families of the city of Moscow "My Family" is being held
Adoption often turns into unexpected difficulties for adoptive parents. Mismatch between expectations and reality creates feelings of guilt and a sense of failure. Littlevan spoke with psychologist Olga Neupokoeva about how to cope with the difficulties that adoptive parents can expect.
On March 29, "Stork Day" was held in Moscow boarding schools and orphanages (the event takes place on the last Saturday of March and October). Everyone could come and talk with experts in the field of adoption, support, with children. This is the second year that such actions have been held in Moscow, and, as practice shows, they give positive results. Potential adoptive parents will be able to get acquainted with the inmates of orphanages, their living conditions, leisure and recreation. On this day, almost all institutions held mini-concerts with the participation of orphans. In addition, future parents could get advice. We learned about how the "Day of the Stork" was held in Center for the Promotion of Family Education "Our House". According to the head of the Center Vadim Menshov, more than 60 guests came to the event. Among them are those who have already decided to take the child into the family and have undergone the necessary preparation (including collecting documents).
“Today we told the guests about our institution, about family forms of organization. We got acquainted with the specialists of the center, held master classes in social and psychological areas of work. I can say that one child was taken by foster parents that day, ”Menshov noted not without pride.
He told us this story. Three months ago, a woman came to the Center and met the teachers and children. During the conversation, she saw the girl Masha. 6-year-old Masha was born with Down syndrome and lived in the Nash Dom Center. A Muscovite, who already had blood children at that time, decided to take the child into her family. It took her three months to collect the necessary documents, to be trained at the School of Adoptive Parents.
“People are actively interested in adoption, they simply do not have information about where to apply, what documents to collect. Each orphanage, each center for promoting family organization needs to conduct an information campaign, namely, to tell about themselves in social networks, in local media. For example, on the eve of Stork Day, we published information on Facebook, in the Radonezh newspaper, and posted posters announcing the event in the Fili region, ”Menshov emphasizes.
"Stork Day" was held in Center for the Promotion of Family Education No. 1. The head of the Center, Valentina Spivakova, emphasizes that many adults are mistaken that if a child is mentally retarded, then nothing will come of him.
“I always say, maybe he won’t become a mathematician, but he’s quite a creatively developed person. True, for this you need to constantly deal with the child, she says.
Traditionally, "Stork Day" always takes place in a festive atmosphere. Children from orphanages are preparing a concert program for the guests, with games and quizzes. In a word, in such a relaxed atmosphere, children and potential parents can get to know each other and talk in an informal setting.
(Translator's note: Adoption Day, Gotcha Day - the day celebrated by American families who have adopted children, is the date they "received" the child. Adoption Day is the day the adopted child appears in the house. This is the most celebrated day among In her book The Joy of Family Traditions, Barbara Bizu wrote that Adoption Day is “designed to show your adopted child how much you have been waiting for him, and that every year you continue to love him dearly”).
Kyle and Marcy Lindenmews met at the University of Maryland when Marcy . Kyle became a Christian in 1991 during his time in North Carolina. They dated for a year and then married in August 1995. Early in their marriage, they had a close relationship with a family that had adopted a child from China. This nurtured in them the same desire. Therefore, from the very beginning, they wanted to have not only their own children, but also adopted ones.
In 1997, they moved to Philadelphia and began working for the Hope Worldwide Charitable Foundation as Program Managers for the Hope Youth Corps. From 1997 to 2003 they traveled all over the world helping teenagers and students "live like Jesus" every day for two weeks. I believe this is part of the programs that, and this is clear for sure from other available articles, are being run by Lindenmues, through the Hope Worldwide Foundation and volunteers from the Church of Christ, organizing camps for children where they can live, relax, learn communicative and spiritual realities). This expanded their boundaries, they saw the great needs of orphans around the world.
In 2000, their son Jack was born in Philadelphia. When Jack was about 6 months old, he was featured in a commercial that was shown all over the country. The advertising money enabled the Lindemuses to start the adoption process much sooner than they had planned. The financial support from the Philadelphia Church Adoption Fund was another blessing, and their health insurance company also provided some money. (Translator's note: the whole adoption process is very expensive in the US, even by the standards of this economically developed country, not everyone can easily afford adoption. And Lindenmews planned an international adoption from China, where even the guardianship authorities stretch the adoption process from 2 to 4 years, with even greater difficulties and expectations from adoptive parents).
Even though they started earlier, it still took them almost 2 years before they met their daughter from China. In March 2003, they received their first photo of Wee Hong Bin (Chinese name Evy), but they weren't able to go pick it up until July due to the SARS outbreak. They were among the first to visit China after the entry ban was lifted. Evelyn Bin Wee was 14 months old when they arrived in China. They officially adopted Evy on July 7, 2003. This date is her "Adoption Day".
Adoption is a process, and it is rarely quick. Once the decision is made, the hard part begins. Marcy said the first challenge was paperwork. She was very surprised by the number of documents required. It took her six months to collect everything! At the same time, there was another separate issue that had to be resolved: how their son Jack would accept a new relative in the house. They began to tell Jack in advance that they would go to China for their daughter, and that she would be part of their family and his little sister. Jack quickly became excited about the opportunities and even began to tell everyone that he would soon have a sister from China. And sure enough, since her arrival, Jack has been an amazing big brother, loving and caring for his little sister.
Evie has become such a part of the Lindenmews family that they forget she's Chinese and adopted until someone brings up the subject. Evie turns 10 in a few months and is becoming more and more of a Lindenmews. Other families are surprised at how similar Evie and Marcy are in their temperament and behavior. They are a living example of the refutation that nature plays a greater role in the formation of character than education.
Kyle and Marcy are very grateful to be part of a Church that inspires people to love and care for orphans. The decision is not easy and not for everyone, but there is a great need for a loving home for many orphans. Marcy says the important things to do are: do your own research, be realistic, but also be full of faith. She advises to be ready to exercise patience, consult a lot and work with God so that He will lead you in the right direction.
If you would like to know more about their adoption, please contact them at [email protected]
Translation: Anna Khapilina
