Founding EurAdopt Australia

The formation of EurAdopt Australia came about through a series of ¹conversations¹, mostly by email, that centered around the idea of bringing people together at a national level. After some brainstorming, what emerged was EurAdopt Australia; an all-embracing organisation that catered for families in every state and territory. Not only was it going to incorporate all of Australia, but it was going to be all inclusive and cover inter-country adoptions from the whole of the European continent.

EurAdopt Australia was officially launched on ANZAC Day 2003 in Canberra at the first of our annual KidFests. The glasses were joyously raised and the toasts made in the presence of families from 4 states and a representative from the Romanian Embassy.

The name EurAdopt Australia was chosen after much consideration. As most of you are aware Europe is undergoing great change at present with the recent, in historical terms, formation of the European Union and its extension into the old Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe. This blurring of the boundaries between east and west has led to a redefining of the term ¹Europe¹ and we felt, in light of this, it was practical to drop the term ¹Eastern Europe¹ and utilise just ŒEurope¹ in the naming of our new organisation.

The main purpose of EurAdopt Australia is to bring people together. The value of doing this is immeasurable. I believe families need to know they are not alone and I think the children need to also know that they are not alone. I have already seen the benefits of this with our elder son who has had difficulty adjusting to his new life and carries a lot of emotional baggage from his early years in Romania. He says he was a Œtradegy¹ at the first KidFest, better at the second and is going to be brilliant at the third. The children themselves are developing their own friendships and community and this is both rewarding and exciting to observe.

Parents also have gained immense value from this coming together. It is a sad but unfortunate reality that while some children have settled in, adapted and are busy leading normal lives, others are still struggling and the road is hard and long. Such families often find common ground and the kind of support only those who face the same issues can understand. There are now networks across the nation to aid families in need of advice or moral support. But for me the biggest benefit of all is that year by year at the KidFests we can see our children develop, grow and realise some of the great potential they hold within themselves.

As well, there are a range of issues that can be more easily sorted out by a group than by an individual. The original intention had been to focus solely on post-placement problems, such as what to do about the more challenging behaviours that are reflective of our children¹s background circumstances and passport renewal. However, EurAdopt has taken wings and flown to greater heights over the past year and there are now many new and exciting facets to the organisation. A Homeland trip is planned for 2006; we are looking at undertaking service activities and projects in the countries of origin; and a special group is spearheading a campaign to open more inter-country adoption programs within Europe.

At present Romanian children dominate the KidFests but we are hoping this will not always be the case. Already there are Russian children living in Australia and the last KidFest was attended both by some of these and a family who travelled from New Zealand to be with us who had also adopted from Russia. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first Lithuanian children and are busy tracking individuals adopted from countries such as Poland and Azerbaijan.

We all made that incredible journey across the world to become parents and create or add to our families but as time has passed, I think a lot of us have grown to realise that the incredible journey didn¹t end in Romania or Russia, but on arrival back home. That is what EurAdopt Australia is about.

Regards,

Lynette