We will be holding our first evening of sessions next Saturday, July 10th. Please email me if you are interested and I can fill you in on the details!
Category Archives: Adoption
Devastating, Part II
I have a lot of things that I’d like to share with you, but one thing in particular seems appropriate today. The following statistics are devastating. I’m not sharing them with you to scare you into donating, but because I’d like you to be informed and aware of the sad reality for orphans. Far too many people aren’t…
This is from Lyndi Shupp’s blog; please don’t forget to check out her blog, donate and pray for her family as they deal with a bump in their journey and bring Freddie home:
Your future doesn’t look too bright. When you are 16, you will have to leave the orphanage. You don’t have family to turn to. There are few jobs in your country. There are few programs to feed you or house you. And your self esteem is very low for all you’ve been through.
Right now, there are over 100,000 children living in orphanages in [Eastern Europe]. Official numbers vary, and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number. Reports from 100,000 to 150,000 exist, with 120,000 being the most commonly cited number. There are officially another 100,000 in state care, such as semi-orphanages and other forms of care.
Whatever the final number, the reality for these children is bleak. Because the [Eastern European] government provides extremely inadequate funds for clothing, shoes or other basics, and the budget for food is grossly inadequate as well, many children suffer from poor nutrition, medical issues that result from this like rickets, hunger, cold and lack of medicines. Orphanages depend on international aid for survival.
Around the age of 16, orphans must leave the orphanage. There is no further funding for them to remain in the orphanage and because of overcrowding, it is not possible for them to stay longer in most cases. Sometimes, this happens even younger – children as young as 14 have had to leave our older kids’ orphanage, the Internat. They are without the basic skills to protect themselves and provide for themselves.
Orphans are given the option to attend some sort of further education according to [Eastern European] law. They can also live in a government-run dormitory if space is available, and as long as they study – usually one to two years. The conditions in these dorms are far worse than in the orphanage – they are usually violent, dangerous and worse, these orphans spend a great deal of time alone and without encouragement and love.
When an orphan leaves the orphanage, they must secure housing, food, warm clothes and shoes and other basics for living if they are not able to go on to further education, or after that education is done. Internat directors are charged with helping these students as they leave the orphanage, but in a country with few social programs to help and where jobs are very scarce, this is a monumental, daunting task.
- 60-70% of boys leaving the orphanage will become involved in crime for survival.
- 60-70% of girls leaving the orphanage will become involved in prostitution for survival.
- About 1 in 6 of these children will commit suicide before their mid-20′s because of hopelessness.
This information is directly from Eli Project. I take no credit for writing it, however I did change the place name(in brackets), so I would not be sharing the specific country where Erika and Ilya are. If you are resourceful, you can obviously figure this out, but please refrain from announcing it on our blog. Thank you!
P.S. Thank you, Katie, for suggesting that I add our fundraiser to the sidebar.
WOOHOO!!!
Someone smack me over the head for complaining, please.
Today we had our last homestudy meeting! YAY!
Today, a stranger donated to our adoption fund.
Today, another stranger bought two t-shirts to support bringing our kids home. And offered to send them books!
But, really, who am I to call these awesome people strangers? Erika and Ilya, orphans in a far away country, have a FAMILY waiting for them here in the United States. A family which I’m learning is much more than me and Aaron, extends beyond our literal families, into a family of people who have a heart for orphans and want to see Erika and Ilya home. How incredible!
Also, if you have not heard about the Shupp family, please check out their blog. They have had an unusual surprise come up in the last few days before leaving for their child’s country and now need to raise $3000 more. Lyndi is not only a sweetheart, but she also volunteers for RR and helps people like us bring our kids home, by checking our paperwork and answering our questions. Please pray for them and donate, if you are able.
I have to admit that I’ve been frustrated lately. On Friday, I went to pick up my medical form from the doctor’s office. And there were several mistakes on it. Most of which were stupid mistakes, mistakes which I think the staff at the doctor’s office made because they were busy or thought the directions were too complicated. So now, it has to be redone.
I got a letter in the mail today from the IRS. I got excited, thinking it was finally our tax refund… a very large check. I opened it and it was saying that they were reviewing our case and it could be up to 45 days because we hear from them again, with our check or requesting more information.
And I’ve been really frustrated with the fundraisers. We’ve had one person buy coffee, one person interested in a t-shirt and one person who was interested in the photography sessions, as of this afternoon. Thanks to a sweet friend not only saying she’d like a session, but also sharing it on her facebook, we now have three families interested in photo sessions. I am so grateful to my friend Amy for this wonderful idea and offering to do it, and also to those of you who have shared it with others!
I really should be more positive about everything though. We have our final homestudy meeting tomorrow. We got our passports on Saturday. We also went to several garage sales on Saturday morning and found some clothes for Erika, a pair of pants for Ilya and a few toys and books, too… spent around $11 for 3 little girl outfits and 2 pairs of shoes, one little boy pair of pants, four books, building blocks and a train set. And on Sunday, we scored a double Baby Jogger off of Craigslist, which just needs one of its tires repaired, something Aaron can easily do… $30.
I’ve had a couple of comments, that I’d like to address…
I don’t know if this little girl is who I think she is but if she is, she has a sister. You might want to go check it out 🙂
The little girl listed on that website is, in fact, the same little girl we’re adopting, but they are incorrect in listing them as sisters. I checked with Andrea at Reece’s Rainbow. Both of their birthdates are correct and they are not related. Darya does look very sweet and she is available for adoption through Reece’s Rainbow. She is listed here in orphanage 33.
So does this mean that the children know that you want to adopt them now? How exciting, one step closer!
I wish that they knew, but they do not know and they will not know until we arrive there and we meet them.
Please feel free to leave question in the comments! I am happy to answer them if I can.
Photo Fundraiser
Updated with new dates and times!
My super duper sweet friend Amy has offered to do a photo fundraiser for us. I know that I mentioned this before, but I wanted to post about it specifically, in hopes of getting some people involved.
The cost for a session with Amy is $75. $50 of that goes directly to our adoption. The rest is to cover Amy’s costs. $75 buys you a 30 minute session with Amy, about 20-25 photos, and the right to print those photos wherever you want. The cost is SO reasonable.
Here are a few photos from Amy’s portfolio; feel free to check out the rest…
We will be having one set of sessions in Kansas City on the evening of August 7th. We will be having a second set of sessions in Lawrence on August 8th, in the afternoon. I am not posting all the details for the obvious reason that this is the internet.
Why should you do this? Because, Amy rocks & she takes beautiful photos. And, because it supports our adoption.
Email me at MMorris87 at gmail dot com if you are interested. I can also give you Amy’s email if you have questions for her.
a moose in moscow 