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As we walked around the orphanage grounds, we found they have a spot for kids with disabilities. We saw a young man (age 7) lying in a crib. I was talking to him and they told me he can’t speak. I smiled and said that’s OK and kept talking to him. They said again “He can’t speak” and I said “I know - that’s OK”. I’m guessing he doesn’t get a whole lot of interaction. We had a daughter, Noelle, that never spoke... more

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After our visit with the medical director, we went back towards the main offices and found the American woman talking with the director. I asked her if she could translate briefly for us and she did - we asked the director specifically what her needs were. “Paint!” was the first thing she said. She then started rattling off a long list of things and M told her to choose just three of her most important... more

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From the baby room, we went to the room with the one-year olds. Most of them were lying down for naps, but there were a couple standing up in their cribs. Most were not sleeping yet, either, but were lying quietly. We didn’t take many pictures or interact with them much, as we did not want to mess up naptime. There were 20+ in that room. The next one was - you guessed it - the 2 year olds. They were in bigger cribs, but they... more

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Gisenyi is close to straight across the country from Kigali, but we went up and west, then down and west to get to it. The orphanage we were headed for is about 15 minutes outside of Gisenyi proper. It’s has a big sign on the side of the road that was very obvious - Orphenalinat Noel Nyundo. We were meeting someone there, but got there early, so we waited outside for a while and my friend M entertained a number of local children... more

In June of 2006, I traveled to Rwanda with two friends of mine to go "check out" the adoption possibilities and what type of humantarian work we could do as "just moms". We stayed in Kigali, the capital, but one day, we drove to Gisenyi, about 3 hours away on some pretty twisty, turny roads. We ended up going north to Ruhengeri, which is the launching point for the folks who go to see the mountain gorillas. That excursion is somewhat tempting, but the cost pretty much ensures I’ll never do it - it’s $400 for you to climb up a mountain and watch... more

Some of you may remember the NY Times article on malnutrition in Africa - Erin blogged about it back in December. There is some good news on that front coming out of Zambia. They have decided to move forward with a fortification program that will add micronutrients - especially Vitamin A and iron, but also folic acid and zinc - to prevent damage from malnutrition.... more

This article was published Christmas Eve, in a newspaper in Scotland. I don't know Margaret, but I applaud her efforts and wish her well. It's no small feat to adopt older children OR to try and adopt from Kenya. She and her family are reaching out in other ways as well.

SUPERMUM Margaret Armour is trying to adopt three HIV orphans from Kenya even though she is already a mother of TWELVE.

Margaret was shocked by the plight of the children on a visit there in September.

Now she is trying to bring some of the magic of Christmas to them.

Margaret was told by the orphans that they didn't expect Christmas presents because "Santa only visits muzungu... more

I want to thank Jenna for sharing her point of view of religion and adoption placement. She got me thinking about the role religion has played in adoption for our family, and specifically adopting internationally. I can see how hurtful it would be to a birthmother to be told that *her* child was really meant to be another’s. Wow. That hurts! It made me think of how I felt when I was told that my repeat miscarriages were God’s way of saying my family was... more

I have thought about tackling other topics, but today, all I can think about is my sweet Luisa. Her birthday is today - she is 6. I think about her birthmother in Guatemala and wonder if she is thinking of her today - I’m sure she is. I wish I could let her know how well her daughter is doing. I also think about her first adoptive mom that could not keep parenting her, but who loves her deeply and misses her. Thankfully, I DO have the chance to let her know how Luisa is. Several other bloggers have mentioned that adoption can’t ONLY be sweet, can’t ONLY... more

Doing some surfing, I found the following information on conferences occurring around the country. I would encourage you to go to one in your area - they pretty much ALL have tidbits of information that benefit parents in all stages of adoption.

3rd International Conference on Post Adoption Policy and Practice Sponsoring Organization: Center for Family Connections Dates of Conference: 02/19/2007 - 02/21/2007 Topics: Adoption Location: Cambridge, MA Contact Information: Caitlin FitzGerald Center... more