Monday, June 12, 2006

An answer to a common question

Why RUSSIA?????

This endeavor is not about being a mom. It is about bringing hope to a child that needs a springboard in life. With this in mind, I researched US adoptions and found that birth mothers choose the adoptive parents. There is a long list of couples waiting to adopt an American child. I did not see a need for me to add myself to that long list.

The other option for US adoption is to adopt from the foster system. This is a viable choice as well, but when comparing the American system with systems in foreign countries, I found that while it is not ideal for a child to grow up in the foster system, they have more hope of survival than a child in an orphanage in another country.

So, in short I researched countries:

China - I would have to stay there for an entire month!!! Not an option due to working for a living!

Haiti - I wasn't getting a response for the agency and orphanage! They wanted a substantial non-refundable payment up front.

Kazakastan (sp?) - I would have to stay there for 4-6 weeks.

Russia - I will travel there on two occasions both lasting about a 7 days. Money to the orphanage is due with the first trip and not before. This does not include agency fees. Siberian orphanages have many babies from young mothers who give them up due to poverty. Illness and drug and alcohol use are not major issues in this region.

I hope this answers the initial question of why Russia. :0) I do understand the curiosity!

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