Ana Spotts, Author at Children of All Nations International Adoption

Finding Forever Families

We just received another update from Bulgaria! Today our CAN team had the opportunity to visit another orphanage and meet some of the incredible kiddos that are hoping to find their Forever Families – read their latest post below to learn more about their experience:

Sometimes finding families for certain children is hard..like really really hard. It takes a lot of creativity, determination, and passion to help these children find families that will give them and show them the love they deserve. In international adoption the most difficult children to place are those with special needs, older children (especially boys), and larger sibling groups. Many families who follow my Haiti blog know just how big of an impact older children have made in my life and advocating for them is a large portion of what I do EVERYDAY.

Today, I visited an orphanage with older children. As we walked towards the building we saw a couple of older boys peaking through the curtains and they began yelling to us outside. As we started getting closer the children opened the doors and greeted us with very happy hellos in their adorable accents. Now, prior to us walking up our rep told us that the young boy we recently received information on to start advocating for will be one of the children at the orphanage. I instantly became more excited because it is completely different to be able to meet the child in person that you are advocating for and if I can find him a family it makes it even more special. Since he is a 12 year old boy I knew that many families would be more interested in him if I had personally met him. Anyways, our rep went on to say that the orphanage director had to have a couple of talks with him because he thought we were coming from America to adopt him. Wait…Did I hear our rep correctly? This young, sweet boy thinks I am coming to adopt him…My stomach instantly dropped. Our rep said that the children are conditioned to think that when people are coming from the states it is solely to adopt someone. The director reiterated to the child that I was coming to meet him and help advocate but we would not be adopting him and he would not be leaving with us today. Talk about breaking my heart. Apparently the boy did not actually believe she was telling the truth until our rep arrived with us and again confirmed with him that we were just there to help advocate. These are the realities often forgotten when it comes to older child adoptions. They wait…and wait…and wait..for a large majority of their lives to be adopted and they know that with every passing day their chances become smaller and smaller. Can you imagine being a 12 year old boy and thinking that a family might not be in the cards for you? Whenever we receive files for children from Bulgaria I have two months to advocate before the file is returned. The young boy told our rep today, “TWO MONTHS?!? That is too short. I need a longer time to find a family.”

Well kid, I agree. So, after meeting this spunky child with a small mohawk, a smile that lights up an entire room, and knows that he wants a family I would say it is time to hit the ground running and find him a forever family. The clock is ticking and all we need is YOU.

Resources:

The Bulgarian Way

After wrapping up their stay in Poland, our CAN team headed to Bulgaria to meet with our in-country representative and visit the orphanages that we’re partnered with. Here’s their latest blog post about their experience in Bulgaria thus far:

Bulgaria is a country full of history, statues, culture, and prideful people. But, it is also a country with a lot of orphans. Especially orphans who have special needs or are a part of a larger sibling group. Bulgarian culture includes clothes created with immaculate stitching, dances that date back to generations from long ago, and buildings that have been standing as long as locals ancestors could remember.

As you drive around the city you notice the economic hardships the country has faced and many of the buildings are marked with graffiti. A lot of the children who have been deemed orphans are typically given up do to poverty, parents mental state, and parents socioeconomic status. It is unimaginable to picture giving away your own child simply because you do not have the means to help you and your child survive…But, this is the reality for many parents in Bulgaria. The country is developing a stronger foster care system so thankfully the children are starting to live in a family based environment versus an institution.

I cannot believe this incredible journey is now coming to and end. These past couple of days have been spent meeting with our current partners in country and also building relationships with potential new partners as a means to match more children with forever families. The program itself has grown tremendously over the past year and after this trip I anticipate the number of children matched per year to double, at least.

Today we are going to an orphanage and I will get to meet one of the children whose file we recently received. Stay tuned!

Our Bulgaria Waiting Child adoption program is a great fit for families that are open to children with needs or sibling groups. Unlike many other international adoption programs, our Bulgaria Waiting Child program allows families to request a match towards the beginning of their adoption process, rather than waiting until all of their paperwork is submitted. Each month, CAN advocates for a number of Waiting Children and sibling groups from Bulgaria, and their profiles can be found on our Waiting Child photo listing. If you’re interested in learning how you can be matched, contact our CAN matching specialists or visit our photo listing today!

Click here to visit the CAN Waiting Child photo listing!

Vulnerability

Here’s the latest blog post from our CAN matching specialist, Hilary. Hilary is currently traveling with a team from CAN to visit both Poland and Bulgaria in order to meet with adoption centers and visit orphanages. If your family is interested in adopting a child or sibling group from Eastern Europe and you’re interested in learning more about these programs, visit our Poland and Bulgaria pages to learn how you can begin your adoption journey!

OCTOBER 9, 2016

Traveling abroad teaches you a lot of things; you learn to step out of your comfort zone, taste different foods, experience new cultures and along the way maybe you learn a lot about yourself too. Now, try traveling across the country to meet orphans. These children live a life of vulnerability every single day, and every single time someone unfamiliar walks into the room they light up with excitement because they know you are either a family or you are there to help them find one…In this state, you too become extremely vulnerable. You experience emotions you may not have thought possible and you learn about a sense of determination within yourself you may not have otherwise known. This determination is ignited to find them a forever family.

Traveling to Poland has been my first time to Europe and my second set of orphanages to visit internationally – and I have felt extremely vulnerable the entire trip. The many meetings I have attended I need a translator because I do not understand their language, getting from A to B can be very difficult because I know nothing about subway systems let alone in another language, everywhere I go locals can tell I am not from here, I am starving at random hours, walked 28 miles this week alone and I am exhausted..extremely exhausted. So, now I put myself in an orphaned child’s shoes, shoes which usually are too small or completely worn out. Every time they meet someone like me who is new they most likely don’t understand the language I am speaking, I look different and maybe even act differently. They want to show me everything, tell me everything, and they want to be in every photo I take. Without me telling them that I traveled across the pond just to meet them face to face they already know why I am here.

The first orphanage I traveled to I met a sibling group of three. They have been deemed available for international adoption for sometime now and the director said on the way to meet them that they have given up hope of ever finding a family. The children are older and this unfortunately tends to shy a large majority of families away. As we pulled up to the orphanage the same nauseous feeling always appears as the anticipation of meeting the children rises. We climbed up several flights and I was introduced to another woman who said the children were held back from school and knew someone special was coming to see them(no pressure!). I walked through the center doors and they came running and leaping onto the couches. All three blonde headed and blue eyed cuties. They eagerly shook my hand and sat back down. Engaging with these kids is everything. ALL three of them are amazing. They are so funny, extremely intelligent, and truly want a forever family. However, they know because they are older the chances for them getting a family is slim – and now it’s my job to change that.

If we could all make ourselves a little more vulnerable, speak up, and advocate for others who cannot speak for themselves imagine what a difference we would see in the world.

If you’re interested in learning how you can adopt a child or sibling group from Poland, contact hilary@childrenofallnations.com or visit our Poland adoption page today!

I LOVE POLAND!

We currently have two CAN adoption specialists in Poland who are meeting with our representatives, visiting adoption centers and meeting children who are living in the orphanages that CAN is partnered with. They have had very limited access to the internet, so they were delighted when they finally had an opportunity to send us an update!

I apologize to anyone who has been looking at my blog for updates on the trip and has not seen any. The WiFi at the guesthouse is down so I have not had much access to any internet.

Anyways, here is what has been going on so far…We met with the 3 adoption centers here in Poland and the meetings went very well! The 3 centers consist of the Catholic center, Provincial center, and National center. Each center operates a little differently and it was wonderful to learn more about the adoption process from their point of view.

Today, we are visiting two orphanages and a group home so we will get to meet some of the children that are available for adoption. I am jumping for joy I am so excited to meet them!!

If you are open to children with Downs, HIV, and sibling groups then this could be the perfect program for you.

I will post more as soon as I am able. ☺️

Learn more about our Poland adoption program

Haiti Program to Double in 2017

Children of All Nations recently received a very exciting update from Haiti on our re-accreditation and quota for the upcoming years, stating that we can now accept TWICE as many families as before! This is wonderful news, as each family that submits their dossier to Haiti means another child is coming home. Our Haiti adoption program is very near and dear to our hearts, and CAN’s matching specialists are incredibly passionate about finding homes for children in Haiti.

CAN’s Haiti adoption program has both a Healthy Track and a Waiting Child program. This makes it a great option for many families, whether they’re looking to adopt a younger medically healthy child or they’re open to adopting an older child, a sibling group, or a child with medical needs. The needs of children in the Waiting Child track often vary, and can vary anywhere from very minor to more moderate or severe depending on the child. As the process for CAN’s Waiting Child adoption program is different from that of the Healthy Track program, we encourage any families that are interested in learning more about it to reach out to our matching specialists!

We have already filled our Healthy Track spots for 2016, and our 2017 spots are filling up quickly!

If your family is interested in learning more about our Haiti Healthy Track or Waiting Child program, contact our CAN matching specialists today!

References:

Family Traveling to Latvia!

This summer, so many amazing families stepped forward to welcome children from Latvia and China into their homes through our Orphan Hosting programs. While some of these families did so with the intention of giving the children an incredible experience or advocating on their behalf, many of our host families have been working diligently to get through the adoption process to welcome their host child into their family forever.

One such family that participated in our Latvia hosting program is taking an very exciting step in their journey this week, as they’re packing their bags to travel to Latvia! This is their second Latvian adoption process through Children of All Nations, and we are so happy that we’ve been able to follow them through each step along the way!

We hope that they have a safe and wonderful trip, and we can’t wait to see all of the photos when they return!

Latvia Adoption Program

Children of All Nations’ Latvia adoption program specializes in placing healthy older children, sibling groups, and children of all ages with special needs. If you’re interested in learning if this program is right for your family, contact our CAN matching specialists today!

Latvia Hosting Program

We are currently matching children and sibling groups for our Latvia winter hosting program! If your family is interested in opening your hearts and your home this holiday season, visit our Orphan Hosting photo listing or contact our hosting coordinators at shannon@gwca.org!

A Visitor from Haiti

This week we were fortunate to have someone very near and dear to our hearts here in Texas, Pierre. Pierre runs a creche we are partnered with in Haiti and he will be here for the next week preaching in various churches and raising awareness about the needs in his country.

It was great being able to catch up with Pierre and get an update on how all the kiddos are doing! Our Haiti adoption specialist, Hilary, was also able to speak with Christy, who is a board member at For His Glory, an organization that helps raise funds for Pierre’s creche. We discussed a lot of ideas and made plans moving forward that will hopefully continue to raise awareness and place more orphaned children in Haiti.

We would like to thank Pierre and Christy for taking the time to visit Children of All Nations. Partnerships like this play a huge role in helping Waiting Children find loving Forever Families.

Each year we have limited number of spots available in our Haiti adoption program. If your family is interested in learning more about the children in the special needs program, contact Hilary at hilary@childrenofallnations.com today to learn how you can begin your adoption journey!

Host Kiddo Home

We would like to congratulate one of the wonderful families that participated in our Philippines Orphan Hosting program, as they recently completed their trip to welcome their host kiddo into their family forever! We are so happy that you have been reunited, and we can’t wait to see the amazing journeys you embark upon as a family!

We are currently matching families for our 2016-17 Philippines Holiday Hosting program! If you’re interested in learning how you can become a host family, contact shannon@gwca.org or visit our Orphan Hosting photo listing!

Philippines Orphan Hosting

Our Philippines Orphan Hosting program provides families with the opportunity to welcome a child or sibling group from the Philippines into their home over the holidays. The children and sibling groups in this program are generally between the ages of 8 and 15, and all are in need of loving Forever Families.

This program is currently only available to families living in Texas, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. If your family is living in one of these states and you are interested in learning how you can host this winter, contact shannon@gwca.org or visit our Orphan Hosting photo listing to request a child’s file. Host family matching for this program will be ending soon, so we encourage any interested families to contact us ASAP! Will you give the gift of family this holiday season?

Click here to visit our Orphan Hosting photo listing!

**Due to privacy policies in place by the Philippines, the image in this post is a stock photo.**

5 Reasons to Adopt from Bulgaria

If you are looking to grow your family through international adoption, our Bulgaria adoption program could be a great fit! As this program continues to grow, we are seeing more and more children’s files coming in each month giving us the opportunity to help place children with loving Forever Families. Below are five reasons your family may want to consider beginning your Bulgaria adoption journey!

For more information, contact our CAN matching specialists today!

1. Traditional and Waiting Child Programs – Bulgaria has both a Traditional Adoption program, and a Waiting Child track! Families that are waiting for a referral in the traditional adoption program are able to look at the Waiting Children that our agency is advocating for, giving them the option of switching to the Waiting Child program if that is where they find their child.

2. Get Matched Quickly – In our Waiting Child program, you get to play a role in the matching process, meaning you can submit your request to be matched as soon as you find your child!

3. Siblings – Your family can be matched with a sibling group of 2 or more! While this is more common in the Waiting Child program, it is a possibility in the traditional program as well depending on the age range that you’re open to. Recently we’ve seen several sets of older twins in our Waiting Child program!

4. Healthy Older Children – Our Waiting Child program has children of all ages with varying degrees of needs. However, occasionally the only reason that a child is considered a “Waiting Child” is because they are older.

5. Younger Children – While younger healthy children are available through the traditional program, there are younger Waiting Children with special needs ranging anywhere from very minor to more moderate or severe. For families that are comfortable with needs, this is a great alternative which offers a shorter wait time.

If your family is interested in learning more about either our Bulgaria Traditional Adoption program or our Waiting Child program, please contact our CAN Matching Specialist, visit our Photo Listing, or join our Facebook group today!

Resources

Archive by Author

About Post Author