Adoptions a cause for celebration

By Veronica Chapin

Staff writer

Two small gifts from halfway around the world have given a Jacksonville couple a big reason to be thankful this holiday season.

After trying for years to adopt children, Richard and Gienia Kolenda, who have been married for 23 years, finally got their wish: a son and daughter, Toli and Yana.

The couple adopted the two 7-year-old Russian children Jan. 20. This was their first Thanksgiving celebrated together.

Others celebrating becoming adoptive parents gathered at Hemming Plaza in Jacksonville earlier this week to participate in a ''calling out'' ceremony. The event, in which the names of children up for adoption are read aloud, was held to encourage others to adopt needy children during November's National Adoption Month.

For the Kolendas, there was never a question of increasing the size of their family.

''For us, it has just been a tremendously positive experience,'' Richard Kolenda said.

Kolenda, 45, said his career in the Air Force allowed him to travel around the world and see firsthand the poverty in foreign countries. Knowing the condition of the Russian economy and the limited resources to help orphaned children, the couple said they decided to adopt two children who desperately needed a home and a chance for a future.

''In other countries it is terrible; there is no hope,'' he said.

The couple had to choose the children, who were not related to one another, from photos and videotapes. They described the task as being the hardest thing they had ever done.

''You want them all, and you know you can't; you have to choose two,'' he said.

Adopting children is very time-consuming and requires a six-month home study and extensive background checks. Adoption officials must be assured the parents are suitable, Richard Kolenda said.

''It takes a lot of effort. There is a lot of paperwork you have to do.''

Getting the children was only half the battle. With a communication barrier and a new culture for the children to deal with, the couple spent months learning to speak Russian. They also read up on Russian history, culture and learned songs.

''If you want something really bad, it's not a burden,'' said Richard Kolenda. ''We prepared ourselves. They are kids; you can't expect them to prepare themselves.''

He said his trip to Russia to get the children was an eye-opening experience because the orphanage housed 30 children in one open bay, with only two bathrooms and a rack of clothes to share.

Gienia Kolenda, 46, said the children adjusted quickly to their new environment and have no desire to go back to Russia. She said Toli and Yana started first grade at Neptune Beach Elementary School this year and are doing well. Children don't start school in Russia until they are 7, she added.

The couple said that even though it has been less than a year since the adoption, it is hard to remember a time when the children weren't part of their lives.

''I think our life is a lot more happy,'' Gienia Kolenda said. ''It is complete.''

Meanwhile, Sandra and Lenny Nasca of Ponte Vedra Beach, who attended Monday's ceremony, were recognized for their love and dedication to children. The couple adopted a sibling group of five. They also have three boys of their own. Now the family of eight children consists of six boys and two girls.

''We are proof that the adoption process works,'' Sandra Nasca said. ''Look at their faces; you will see the best thing we have ever done. ... We've been a blessed family.''

Nasca said that even though she hits the floor running every morning to get most of the children off to school, she wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

''Everything that I do is geared toward kids,'' she said, adding that she runs the school clinic at Ocean Palms Elementary, where several of her children attend.

The names of 70 children available for adoption in the Jacksonville area were called out during the ceremony in Hemming Plaza in hopes of finding adoptive and foster parents.

The event was sponsored by the Florida Department of Children and Families. All of the children named during the ceremony are special-needs children, which includes children who are over 8, part of a sibling group or minority race, or have physical or emotional disabilities.

The Department of Children and Families said 33 children are awaiting adoption in Duval County, 16 in Clay County, 18 in Nassau County, one in Baker County and two in St. Johns County.

According to the department:

-- Adoptive parents can be married or single.

-- There are more than 1,600 special-needs children throughout the state waiting to be adopted. Many have lived the majority of their lives in limbo, and have moved within the child welfare system several times.

-- There is no fee to adopt through the department. However, prospective parents must commit to background and reference checks, a medical examination, home consultation visits and a 30-hour training course.

-- Individuals wanting to adopt can choose a public agency supported by tax dollars; a private agency (most are non-profit); an independent adoption, which is coordinated by a private attorney or other intermediary; or adoption of a child from another country.

For more information about adoption, call 1-800-96-ADOPT.

Richard and Gienia Kolenda and their two adopted children, Toli (left) and Yana, were spending their first Thanksgiving together. The children, both 7, are from Russia.