To want to adopt a child from Haitai?

[booyou]

Well....just that really. We have discussed adopting a child in the future and there are up to 1 million oprhans or one parent has died.... would like to help....

SOS Children's Villages, who were already working with orphans in Haiti before the earthquake, were on the news saying please don't. The last thing traumatised children need in the immediate aftermath of a massive disaster is to be rushed away to a different country and culture.

I dunno, maybe when things have calmed down and those children have begun to recover (goodness only knows how) there might be a role for inter-country adoption for some individuals but right now it is not the answer.

(Think SOS said something about the instinct to reach out to those children is admirable, but please do it by donating to reputable organisations that will help them in-country - the Disasters Emergency Committee would be a good start if you don't want to do SOS in particular.)

Somebody on the PM programme earlier (can't remember who but someone who knew) said that adoption out of Haiti should be a last resort for these children, that there were other ways to help them on the island, and that's where people should be directing their cash. He then went on to say that even before the quake there were up 400,000 children living in orphanages! I thought there were only 3 million people in Haiti in total. I was shocked. Somewhat doubting the island's ability to look after the enormous number of orphans there will be. But on the other hand we shouldn't be removing a whole generation from the country, even though emotionally it's the quickest response to want to save them.

Me too though... Little Haitians and the poor African Albinos that were covered in another programme on R4 later. They can come here- there's no sun and therefore less chance of skin and cancer and a LOT less chance of being chopped up by witch doctors to be made into medecine.

for some of these poor families another baby ,even if it is a relative, is another mouth to feed and if aid doesnt get to these people soon,it will become the survival of the fittest. It is a great shame that a temporary home for the smaller babies cant be established with loving people that will do their utmost for them and put food in their mouths,clothe them and give them the medicines they need.

send money if you want to help, they have said don't want to export their orphans abroad.

that said, there's nothing wrong with seeing those poor kids on the tv and just wanting to sweep them up and take them away from the horrible mess that is all that is left there at the moment.

There are quite a large number of children here in Britain needing a loving family home. I do think that if you want to give that love to children without families, then www.adoptionuk.com/default.asp is a good place to start.

What has happened in Haiti has been a tragedy but smaller tragedies happen to children daily in Britain. Seriously, if you really would like to adopt, look closer to home first.

I saw the piece on Americans wanting to adopt and initially thought how terrible to take those poor kids away from all they know, rather than try and support them in their communities. But then I read a little further and saw that many of those coming forward were Haitian themselves (there is a large Haitian community in Miami) or people who had themselves been "rescued" from a previous disaster zone in the Caribbean, who were wanting to help because they felt they would have something special to offer and had felt that being adopted in the US had been positive for them, and something they could give back.

International adoption can be really great for individuals but it comes with major problems both for the children involved and the communities they come from. Feeling you want to help is of course entirely natural and commendable.

There are a lot of children in this country who are in foster homes or LA care and who need loving permanent homes too. But then that's not quite as cool and glamorous I suppose.....

Amen lark35/ArcticFox - I believe it's only 1 in 12 teenage girls who need a permanent home get one. 1 in 12.

I was talking through this very scenario with DH hypothetically (I've always wanted to have my own children AND adopt) and he said we'd be better off going and running an orphanage over there in the style of Caminul Felix because taking children out of the country isn't going to help in the long run.

You can help one child if you adopt them but you could help so many more if you supported initiatives from within the country, maybe even by sending spare baby stuff to orphanages or volunteering there.

m gut reaction as i bet was alots of people was o wish i could give at least one child a home .

But have decided that will sponsor a child instead and hopefully give them a future that way

My children came home with a letter from school about collecting things and making donations for a similar orphanage just outside of Port Au Prince set up by a couple from our town a few years ago. They are filling up a container full of all sorts of things (clothes, medicines, books, toys, oh and generators), plus equipment for a sports camp (this is a fairly sports mad town). It's a really nice way to feel connected, and very practical (again our town is quite blue collar with lots of community volunteering going on). I don't like the tag line they are using though "Help Haiti's Helpless" which just feels very disempowering, but I guess the alliteration just appealed.

nooka can you post details of the orphanage? I've been looking for something like that for church to give to as we feel the big charities are getting lots of money but practical aid is going to be necessary in existing orphanages who will have to pick up some of the slack.

i spy a journalist at work!

YANBU in wanting to adopt a child from Haiti, YABU if you try to go ahead. Following the Tsunami we seriously considered adopting a child/baby. We were in Thailand at the time and it would have been relatively easy. We decided not to.

If you really want to help the children of Haiti do something like sponsoring a child in Haiti through ActionAid - you can help the individual child through supporting long-term development in the child's community... this is what I'm going to do.

I understand the 'I want to take them home and look after them' response, especially as mothers, but it really really isn't the solution.

I think the suggestion by bicnod is a good one, we sponsor- and will continue to sponsor two children whose lives were destroyed by the Tsunami. We met them and have regular contact. I think it costs us around 250 pounds each a year.

I think supporting a development organisation that has been working in Haiti for many years (see here) is the way forward - they can link their current relief efforts in with existing long-term work. I think this talk of removing Haiti's children from the country would have a devastating effect on the communities there - it would be incredibly disempowering. Apart from anything else children = hope for the future. If you remove the children where is the hope?

I would look into adopting in this country, especially older children or teenagers. I think you would be better off sending money than bringing a child to this country!.

i wish the authorities in this country were more helpful in trying to adopt a British child. I have been told i m too old from the age of 45 ...so what chance have i got now ,8 years down the line.

you'd be better off sponsoring a child or sending money to one of the already well established orphanages IMO

Pollyanna, my comment wasn't addressed to you; if you look at the timing of my post- I was already typing when you posted it.