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Summer Adoption News

 

August 2012Vol 4, Issue 2
Spotlight on Special Needs

If you had a chance to follow the Olympics this summer, I hope you took notice of the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius. He was the first double-below-the-knee amputee (he's been without legs since infancy) to participate in the Olympics against other able-bodied men in the 4x400 meter relay. The media has dubbed him the "fastest man on no legs."

Oscar Pistorius at the 2011 World Championship in So. Korea

Regretfully neither Oscar nor his team earned a metal this year, but the mere fact that he was allowed to participate is a testimony to how attitudes about people with special needs is changing. Not to mention that one becomes completely awestruck watching him run!  

  

The London Summer Olympics may have been the first time that millions of people got to see first-hand what someone with a special need can accomplish. Here at ASIA, though, 75% of the children we place have some sort of medical condition, so we see this potential every day. And while in general the U.S. has better medical resources and a more accepting attitude towards people with special needs than other countries, there's more work to be done. Since the availability of healthy infants is nearly gone in the area of international adoptions, we all need to keep the dialogue going about the joy and wonder that a special needs child can bring into our lives. Or how a person is not defined by a perceived physical limitation. If the excitement and awareness continues to grow over the accomplishments of someone like Oscar Pistorius's, perhaps more adoptive parents will step forward to nurture a new generation of champions.

 

Joy Drechsler

Executive Director 

Save the Adoption Tax Credit

  Since 1997, the federal adoption tax credit has provided benefits to families who have adopted from foster care, intercountry adoption or private domestic adoption. However, the current credit, with a maximum benefit of $12,650, is set to expire on December 31, 2012. Scheduled to take its place in 2013 is a reduced credit of only $6,000 and even at that, very few adoptive families will be eligible.

 

So we are asking everyone to join the fight to save the adoption tax credit - regardless if you adopted 10 years ago or are just starting the process!

 

It's easy. Visit the Save the Adoption Tax Credit web site that will provide you with facts, resources and sample letters that you can use for contacting your Representative and/or Senator. It's important to take action because the only way the tax credit will be extended is with Congressional approval.

 

It's also important to note that as we enter the last quarter of the year, ASIA is already doing everything possible to expedite the process for those families that are nearly complete. As a result, we will not be able to do anything more than we already are to finalize adoptions before December 31st. So make your voice heard to your congressperson now to help get the tax credit extended!    

JJ's Journey to a Family

Some journeys are just meant to be.  This is certainly true of the story of little JJ.  It started 18 months ago when ASIA's Director of Social Services, Marci Siegel Kittrell, visited the Baotou SWI and held a tiny baby boy whose heart was so sick that his skin was blue from a lack of oxygen. This little boy's caregiver looked Marci in the eyes and asked her to please do everything possible to find him a family. We did and below is the story of how his family came to be and the path they continue to travel:  

  

Adoption in itself is an experience few of us plan to live out. Some adoptions, though, open dimensions of life that push us even farther off script! Such was the case with Nathan "JJ" Jian Jun Lee, our fourth adoption and sixth child in our family.

 

In May of 2010 we adopted our daughter Ping through ASIA, who subsequently went through open heart surgery in September 2010 at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore, and had become big advocates of helping kids with heart conditions from China.

 

Little JJ today
So we first learned about JJ from Marci Siegel-Kittrell in March 2011 when she reached out to her circle of advocates for help.  She stated that an infant boy from an orphanage in Inner Mongolia, China, needed heart surgery and would we have any helpful tips or questions to help out the medical foster home where he was staying? Somehow he stuck in my heart ... I had no picture, no detailed story and Marci hadn't even mentioned his name. But he was out there ... a little life in need half a world away. I punched out a few questions for her, but his story lingered in my head through the summer.

 

December 2011 rolled around and another email came from Marci. This time she told me his name, Jian Jun, and stated that his file is approved for adoption. He was just over a year old and would we know anyone interested? Next came a picture and lo and behold! ... a little boy destined for our family. With ASIA's help, we pulled together a rushed dossier, exchanged numerous correspondences with JJ's caregivers about his medical status and less than 5 months later we were on a plane to China. What a whirlwind!

 

The intervening months had brought some wonderful experiences-- from learning that JJ was born on

With big sisters Shelby and Ping (also with heart conditions)

the SAME day as Ping's major heart surgery, to finding out that his medical foster home employed the same nannies who had loved and taken care of Ping. I should mention that Ping's adoption, too, had been unplanned and yet that decision set the stage for JJ coming into our family and now a new chapter of our lives.

 

Now we find ourselves preparing another return trip to China. Not for adoption but to lead a team of Cardiologists and ICU nurses from Doernbecher who will provide free medical care at the foster home where JJ lived in a Beijing suburb. Our hope is that there can be an exchange of medical practices that will help kids with heart conditions improve their health so that more adoptive families would welcome them into their homes.

 

From our family to yours, we hope you step through the doors that open in front of you. You never know where they will lead!

 

Mike and Tanya Lee

 

(For more information about the Lee Family's medical humanitarian trip to China, please visit their web site. For those interested, they are holding a Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction on September 22, 2012 at New Hope Community Church in Clackamas, Oregon.)

ASIA's Change for Children Campaign

 ASIA is proud to be partnering with the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) on a "Change for Children" fundraising campaign this fall. Working together we are raising awareness for vulnerable children around the world that are living without families. In particular, any money that we raise will be donated directly towards the orphanages that ASIA works with in China. Our goal this year is to raise $2,800.

 

There are a couple of ways that you can get involved. You can visit the special Team ASIA Make Change for Children fundraising page to make a donation directly or send us a check. A big focus of the campaign is "kids helping kids", so host a child's Harvest or Halloween party and ask everyone to bring pocket change to donate. In fact we can send you an informational packet that is full of great party-planning ideas for this type of event. Or have the family trick-or-treat for coins this Halloween instead of candy - we'll send you the Change for Children labels that you can place on a bag or can.  

 

The campaign ends November 1, 2012 so get involved today! For more information or supplies, please contact Pattie in the ASIA office.

Introducing Our New Hope Journey Kids

Recently ASIA's China Director, Dr. Susan, was selected to participate in a Hope Journey program in Guangzhou. While visiting she got to meet several terrific kids that are really hoping to have a family to call their own. Below are 3 that we'd specifically like you to meet:

 

JUDY

Age: 10

Judy is inquisitive, observant, independent, generous, helpful and giving. She is able to take care of herself, uses clear, expressive language, recognizes her friends and is an avid learner. She is polite and interested in learning and new things. She is outgoing and social, but can be a bit shy when she meets new people. She likes playing with other kids and when she gets something new or delicious, she always shares with other kids. She also likes to lead other kids in singing or reading.

 

 

CURT

Age: 6

Curt is a bright boy. He has been involved in Half the Sky programs and benefited from the education. He could speak short sentences at two years old. He is outgoing, active, lovely and can master knowledge very quickly. He has the same motor skills as other children his age, but his language skills are much richer. He speaks fluently and knows many words and concepts. He can sing all of the nursery rhymes that his teacher taught him, as well as sway his body along with the music. He has sharp observation skills in his daily life, noticing even the smallest of changes. He has a creative imagination and excellent problem solving abilities. He gets along well with other children and enjoys playing games with them, riding bikes and blowing bubbles.

 

JUNE

Age: 5

June's personality is a treasure that she hides beneath a serious and shy facade. However, if you get her around music, she lights up, becomes interactive and happy and shines. If you could be a fly on the wall in the Half The Sky singing and dancing class, you would see June clapping along and singing to what she knows. She'll also do a little dance when called upon. She seems to love music and may have a gift for it. She needs a family to unlock that gift and help her reach her full potential. You can't see June shine in any of the pictures, but if you take the time to view her videos, you will see it!

 

To see the complete file on these cuties, plus many more, please contact Marci.

Haitian Adoption Changes

As many may know, the Haitian government recently ratified the Hague Convention standards for  adoptions from their country. And while the process of change will be difficult moving forward, in the long run it will help ensure that children continue to be adopted in the safest and most ethical manner possible.

 

Among the first set of changes is a new requirement that all adoption service providers become licensed to operate in Haiti. ASIA has officially applied for licensing and we anticipate we will hear a decision on our approval in the next four to eight weeks.   Additional changes will be that the social welfare arm of the Haitian government (a.k.a. IBESR) will assume responsibility for determining a child's eligibility for adoption, as well as for matching children with families. Previously the orphanages were responsible for these activities. It is anticipated that IBESR will impose fee increases as well. Please visit our facebook page or our web site for additional updates on the Haiti process.

Family Spotlight: An Update on Teresa "Lucy" Bartlinski 

Some of you might recall that a couple of years ago ASIA launched a fundraising campaign to help a little girl named Lucy be united with her forever family. We thought you might enjoy an update from her family on how her lust for life has blessed them:

 

We wanted to share with  everyone an update on Teresa (a.k.a. "Lucy").  As many of you know, Teresa became  a member of our family in July 2010.  Upon bringing Teresa home from China we unfortunately learned she needed a heart and lung transplant . Her doctors felt she would not survive this transplant and she was deemed inoperable . We were advised to take her home and enjoy what little time we had left. Knowing in our hearts this was not an option to just sit back and wait we actively pursued second opinions at several of the countries best Pediatric Cardiology Hospitals. To our disappointment they all gave us the same prognosis ... except one. Childrens Hospital Of Philadelphia was not willing to give up  on Teresa. They did not want to give us false hope and advised us that it would probably require a MIRACLE for Teresa's lungs to improve enough to accept only a heart transplant, so this is what we started praying for.  Miraculously after two years of praying for Teresa's lungs to heal she has just been listed for a heart-only transplant!

Teresa...a special kind of princess!
As Teresa waits to receive her new heart she has not lost her love of life. She lives everyday to the fullest not missing a beat.  She loves being a princess and playing dress up with her best friend and sister, Gemma.  The one thing in life Teresa loves more than anything else is having a family .  When asked what she " wished " for for her Make A Wish last year , she said," I  wished for a family and now I have one . "

Our family would like to thank ALL of the ASIA Family for their continued love, support and prayers for Teresa.  For Families that may be considering to adopt a child with a heart condition I would strongly urge you to follow your heart . Heart children are very special. Teresa has changed our lives for the better in ways we never imagined and opened our hearts to emotions and feelings we didn't know we had locked away.
 
If you would like to follow Teresa's journey, please visit our blog for updates on her condition . We believe in miracles !
 
The Bartlinski Bunch

Request for Older Child Letters

ASIA has been placing older kids (ages 12 - 14) more and more. And after spending many years in an orphanage setting, becoming part of a family can be really challenging for these kids.

 

As a result, we are looking for adoptees, those who were adopted at an older age, to write letters about their experience. We'd like to share these letters with other kids who are about to be placed with a family. We think this type of sharing could be extremely beneficial! If your child is interested in writing a letter, or if your family is willing to mentor other adoptive families, please contact Marci.