How to Help Stop Sex Trafficking

Children's HopeChest has a program in Russia to "stop sex trafficking before it begins."
Tom Davis explains on his blog: http://networkedblogs.com/2TS3Y

Further, CHC is selling these necklaces in which the proceeds go to help the victims of sex trafficking. 

"There are a limited number, so buy now to help support victims of sex trafficking in Moldova and the Young Mother’s Program in Russia- give the gift of LOVE to many!

A nice 18″ inch Sterling Cable Chain with a lobster clasp holds a 1″ inch Handmade Sterling circle that is hand stamped with “Love” and it is paired with a sterling flower Charm and a Beautiful Black Onyx Gem that is hand wrapped in Sterling silver."

To purchase:  http://www.adoptionfathers.com/2010/04/11/supportyoungmothers/

A Novel About Human Trafficking

This is an NPR book review on the novel, Purge, set in 1992 Russia and Eastern Europe.

Surviving Human Trafficking: A Noir Fairy Tale
by Oscar Villalon

In Koba the Dread, Martin Amis' concise history on Stalin's legacy of perversity, the British novelist makes the point that the enormity committed by the Soviets during (and before and just after) World War II somehow didn't get the deep traction in the consciousness of the West that the inhuman crimes of Nazi Germany did.

Sofi Oksanen's disturbing, riveting novel Purge partly operates in opposition to that fog of forgetfulness. Her book's story — an escaped Russian sex slave turns up out of nowhere, collapsing in front of the dilapidated house of an elderly woman in Estonia — is a jolt.

Set in 1992, only three years removed from the joyful optimism undammed by the demolition of the Berlin Wall, Purge burns through the mists to show how decades of debasement have twisted society in the former USSR into one characterized by crime and cruelty. Oksanen couches this larger theme within a tight, unconventional crime novel, one punctuated by dreadful silences, shameful revelations and repellent intimacies. By examining the toll of history on a close, personal level, Oksanen, an acclaimed Finnish playwright and novelist, makes the cost of mere survival (never mind the price of retaining one's dignity) sickeningly palpable.

Yet for all its darkness, Purge is an engrossing read.  Continue with review - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125915533&ft=3&f=1025,1032,1036,1132

Reminder that the Vast Majority of Adoptions are Positive and Joyful!

An essay from NPR from an adoptive father:

Mercy On A Parent: Show Adoption's Happy Cases

by Eric Weiner

I've gotten very quick with the remote control these days. I can change channels or hit the mute button in a fraction of a second. You see, I don't want my 5-year-old daughter to hear the adoption news out there, because lately, it seems, it's all bad news. The Russian case, the American missionaries accused of sneaking children out of Haiti — these stories raise questions that I'm not prepared to answer. Not yet, at least.
My daughter knows she is adopted. My wife and I don't hide that fact, but nor do we dwell on it. It's just one more thing, we tell her, that makes her special. Once, we were at an ice cream parlor, and the clerk asked my daughter: "Where are you from, little girl?" "Kazakhstan," she replied proudly. I can still recall the shocked expression on the clerk's face.

Only now is my daughter beginning to understand that we don't look alike, she and I. Coursing through her veins is the blood of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Coursing through my veins is the blood of the Jews of Eastern Europe. It doesn't matter, though. Love trumps genetics. Every time.
There's something mysterious and wonderful about the bond between an adoptive parent and child. For me, that bond gelled as soon as I saw her photo — sent by e-mail from the adoption agency. She had bright eyes and a huge bald head — "Buddha Baby," we called her. Normally I'm not one to believe in fate, but at that moment, I knew, just knew, she was destined to be my daughter.

Adoption is not what you think it is. It is not, as one well-meaning person told me, "an act of mercy." My wife and I did not adopt our daughter to "save" her or to demonstrate our innate goodness. We adopted her because we wanted a child and couldn't have one biologically. That's why we filled out endless reams of paperwork, underwent a background check, spent thousands of dollars we couldn't really afford.

Like our case, the vast majority of international adoptions end happily. Of course, you don't hear those stories. Good news is not news — which is a shame, really, because every time there's an adoption scandal, countries overseas get spooked. Sometimes, they suspend all adoptions, as Russia is reportedly considering now. When that happens, the main victims are the children sitting in orphanages, waiting for parents who may never arrive.

That's what nearly happened to us. At the time, there was a similar case involving a Russian child adopted by an American parent. This parent had allegedly beaten the child to death. It was a terrible story, and Kazakh officials — very much in the Russian orbit — were threatening to suspend all adoptions, including ours. My wife and I spent several tormented weeks holed up in an apartment in the Kazakh city of Almaty, wondering whether we would be allowed to bring our Buddha Baby home.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed and adoptions were allowed to continue. I hope that is what happens now. Meanwhile, I've figured out what I'll say the next time someone tells me that adopting my daughter was an "act of mercy." Yes, I'll reply, it was, and it is we — my wife and I — who are the recipients of that mercy.


Eric Weiner is a former reporter for NPR and author of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.  This story may be found at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125906714&sc=fb&cc=fp

Russia Threatens to Halt Adoptions By Americans

U.S. to urge Russia to keep adoptions after boy's return


(CNN) -- Top officials from the U.S. State Department plan to travel to Moscow this week to push Russia to allow adoptions by U.S. families to continue.

The trip comes after a U.S. family sparked outrage by sending an adopted 7-year-old boy back to Russia alone. Officials in Moscow have threatened to halt all adoptions by U.S. families.

"We were certainly shocked, as was everybody, about the return of the child. We are hoping to work with the Russians to continue the adoptions of children," said Michael D. Kirby, principal deputy assistant for consular affairs.

"We have had over 50,000 children adopted from Russia. The vast majority are doing great here in the United States."

Families in the United States have adopted 14,079 children from Russia in the last five years, including 1,586 in 2009, according to the State Department.

Russia is the third most popular country for U.S. families adopting children internationally, behind China and Ethiopia.
The family that returned the boy said he showed violent and psychotic behavior -- and that officials in Russia had given no warning.
"I am sorry to say that for the safety of my family, friends and myself I no longer wish to parent this child," Torry Hansen wrote in a note in the child's backpack.

She added that Russian orphanage workers "lied to and misled" her about the boy, Artyem, who was renamed Justin Artyem when the family adopted him last year.

In a phone call with CNN, Hansen's mother, Nancy Hansen, said the boy "had a hit list of people he wanted to hurt." No. 1 on that list: his American mom.

The final straw, the adoptive grandmother said, came last week when the family caught him trying to start a fire in the home.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in an interview with ABC News, called the boy's return a "monstrous" act.
Kirby, speaking to CNN's "American Morning," said, "We have to talk about how we can follow up after the children are adopted. First, are the parents properly screened in the process? Are the agencies that are screening them doing all that they could do to ensure that they are prepared to be new parents?"

He added U.S. officials also must work with Russians "to make sure that the children themselves are also fully understanding what is going to happen to them as they move to a new country in a strange place."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/12/russia.adoption/index.html?hpt=T1

April 29 Is Approaching Quickly!

This is a reminder that there is still time to register for Christian Alliance for Orphans' annual Summit!

http://www.christian-alliance-for-orphans.org/summit/

FSMO Seeks Help from Orlando's Faith Based Community to Send Foster Kids to Summer Camp

Family Services of Metro Orlando is seeking help from the faith based community to help send foster kids to summer camp.  CGC asked if this includes church camps and they said, "yes." This is a great opportunity for churches to step in and take a child who may have never have heard about God and let this child spend a week hearing all about Him.

If you belong to a church who is planning to send kids to camp, would you be willing to ask if your church could take a few foster kids? Once we find out if churches are willing to take some kids, we are going to work on finding sponsors for them. Please let us know if you can help. This is the first official request from the state to the faith based community and is a wonderful opportunity to have a Godly impact on a child.

Please let us know what you think. Let us know if your church can help or if you could just give us a contact person at church and we will follow up with asking.

We are under a bit of a time constraint since it will take some time to clear all the paperwork needed for these kids to attend camp. If you have any info, would you please get it to us by Sunday, April 25.

Thank you,
CGC

Children's HopeChest "Young Mother's Program"

For Mother's Day 2010, Children's HopeChest is selling beautiful, handmade, one-of-a-kind necklaces to raise funds for girls in their Young Mothers Program. Keep an eye out for the "Love Goes Around" necklace and their Breaking the Chain Mother's Day gift campaign.

About the Young Mothers Program: When orphans are released from the orphanage in their early teen years, they enter a critically vulnerable time. In the case of these women, they found themselves pregnant and alone. Still children themselves, they had nowhere to go. That's where HopeChest comes into the picture.

Learn more:  http://tomdavis.typepad.com/HopeChest-YoungMothers.pdf

Family Services of Metro Orlando's "Give a Child a Childhood" Fundraising Breakfast to be help April 29

The annual Give a Child a Childhood Fundraising Breakfast is your opportunity to learn how your support has a profound impact on the lives of children and families in central Florida.
Did you know...

•more than 37% of former foster youth cost rather than contribute to society because they never received the supports and resources they needed to grow into healthy and productive citizens?

•more than 200 central Florida children died in 2008 due to abuse? While each life is priceless, the economic impact of these needless deaths is in excess of a half billion dollars every year.

•there are enough central Florida children awaiting adoption each year to fill fifteen classrooms?

•families of abused children generally suffer from as many as eight major life challenges - job loss, homelessness, domestic violence, addictions, physical and mental illness - all at once?

•even as the need increases, government provides only a shrinking fraction of what it costs to provide basic protection of children? We rely on individuals like you for support of our programs to improve the quality of life for children and families in our community.

The challenges children and families face are too large for nonprofits alone to solve. Family Services of Metro Orlando empowers everyone to be part of the solutions many in our community so desperately seek.

To register:  http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2opqff970b1a227

Guardians Ad Litem Provide a Voice for Children

An Orlando Sentinel article on how Guardian Ad Litems help abused and neglected children

Murray McMahon could be at a driving range, peppering a distant flagstick with golf balls.

Instead, the retired Westinghouse engineer aims for a more important target with his free time: protecting children. McMahon, 79, of Yalaha devotes five hours a week, often more, to his duties as a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed volunteer entrusted with looking out for the best interest of an abused or neglected child.

"A child needs a voice in court," said McMahon, whose wife, Marilyn, also serves as a guardian for endangered children in Lake County. "We're the only one in the court who's there just to speak for the child. Everybody else there has their own interest, everybody else there has a lawyer to speak for them – mom, dad, DCF [state Department of Children and Families]."

Florida's guardian ad litem program, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary Tuesday, depends on trained volunteers who are supposed to act as independent investigators and advocates for children. State law requires that every child in foster care be provided with an advocate. But the program has its critics.

"It should be abolished," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, a nonprofit watchdog organization that monitors the nation's many child-welfare systems. "A child's voice in court is not the GAL's [guardian ad litem's] voice."
Wexler said the volunteers, who are overwhelmingly white and middle class, may be well-meaning, but often bring with them an inherent racial and class bias that fails to serve families who are disproportionately poor and minority.

Continue story:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/law/os-law-and-you-and-guardians-20100322,0,4194381.story?page=1

To learn how to become a Guardian Ad Litem in Florida: 
http://www.guardianadlitem.org/

An Editorial on Adoption from Christianity Today

210 Million Reasons to Adopt
Haiti's devastating quake reminds us that orphans matter to God.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/april/13.55.html?start=1
 
Two years ago, a Christian couple from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, fell in love with an abandoned toddler, born with a disability and living in an orphanage in rural Haiti. Already adoptive parents of a Liberian child, Katy and Josh Manges decided to adopt the toddler, Malachi, who has a treatable bone disorder.

Then the January 12 earthquake that crushed so much of Port-au-Prince, costing an estimated 230,000 lives, put the prayerful plans of the Manges family in limbo. It also laid bare before the world how badly orphans and vulnerable children may be treated when they get caught up in red tape, corruption, and political correctness.

For the Manges family, the outcome was success. In late February, Malachi arrived in Miami into the welcoming arms of his new family. Yet the adoption required two years of effort, delayed by local politics and requiring a personal signature from Haiti's prime minister. At the last minute, rioters at Port-au-Prince's airport derailed Malachi's departure, falsely alleging that he and other adoptees had phony paperwork.

This episode stands alongside another, the still-unfolding saga of the Idaho Baptists who were arrested on suspect charges of child trafficking. The latter may have a long-lasting chilling effect on inter-country adoption just when adoptive parents are needed more than ever. There are 210 million orphans worldwide, and adoptions to the U. S. have dropped 45 percent since 2004.
The greater problem isn't with potential adopting parents. It's with a system that is severely broken. Christian leaders and churches have much to offer in advocating for the reform of confusing adoption laws, stronger enforcement of international norms, and making adoption more affordable, more visible, and a more honored practice.

Jedd Medefind, president of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, recently told Christianity Today that immediately after Haiti's quake, many agencies fielded waves of calls from people with a strong impulse to take Haitian orphans into their homes. Rather than dismiss or belittle this impulse, Medefind encouraged them to consider the many ways of supporting the children, recognizing that adoption is a long and uncertain process. Family reunification, orphanages, extended family care, and child sponsorship all have a role to play in meeting the needs of vulnerable children in crisis or chronic need.

But Medefind is quick to note that powerful political and cultural barriers often make adoption an arduous process that takes too long and costs too much. "The reality is that there are thousands of children, before and after the earthquake, who are genuinely in need of parents," he says. "To the extent that parents can't be found, we should not relegate children to living on the streets or [in] orphanages. The political and cultural factors often become unspoken reasons why children are forced to remain in institutional care or on the streets, which is a profound tragedy."

The political and cultural barriers stem from warped ideas about what is in a poor child's best interest. It isn't in the best interest of abandoned children to grow up destitute and barely literate, regardless of the imagined cultural benefit of remaining in their home country. Haiti itself is a vivid example of injustice. The government tolerates a modern form of child slavery by allowing 225,000 children ages 6-14 to work as restavecs (unpaid, indentured domestics).

Adoption, domestic or inter-country, should not be looked down upon as inferior at best or as a last resort. The 150,000 South Korean orphans adopted worldwide (99,000 to the U.S.) since the 1950s testify well to the durable difference a loving adoptive family can make.

For Christians, the biblical basis for adoption bears repeating. The Book of James beckons every true follower of Christ to become involved in the lives of orphans (and widows). It's not for married couples only. Godly, never-married singles have successfully adopted, and most readily affirm the ideal that each child should live with a mother and father—whenever possible. So, Christian singles should not be automatically excluded from the pool of possibilities for adoption.

Adoption experts provided CT with four ways churches can increase their involvement:

• give adoptive families space to tell their stories in church;

• find ways to give small starter grants to people interested in adopting;

• encourage the adoption of children with special needs; and

• develop a full spectrum of responses, from child sponsorship to adoption.

CT recently talked with a never-married woman who adopted a young girl from Kazakhstan into her home (at a personal initial cost of $36,000). For her, the question was, "Are we talking about live souls?" Not mere "victims" or "political symbols" or "the needy," but children for whom Christ died, who need a home where the love of God is lived and shared with the least of these.