Group arranges foreign orphans' trip
Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Valley families looking to adopt await children from Russia, Ukraine.
Author: Bethany Clough
For now, children a world away are only photos and short biographies to central San Joaquin Valley families.
But in a few weeks, the children, now living in orphanages in the former Soviet Union, will come to the United States and meet people who may become their parents.
The 30 orphans will come to Porterville and Hanford for three-week stays in the homes of host families during July and August.
A handful of families have already started paperwork to adopt the children before they've met them. Organizers hope other families will be moved to adopt the children after the visit.
The trip also will be a vacation for the children from cash-strapped orphanages where hot water and balanced diets are hard to come by.
The program is the first of its kind by the nonprofit Richmond-based
Adoption Ark, though other adoption agencies have found homes for children this way.
Volunteers are raising money to help pay the $2,000 per child it costs to bring the children here, said Rhonda Smith of Hanford, whose group, Rachel's Hope, is helping organize the trip.
They will hold day programs for the children at churches, including a week of vacation Bible school and a language program with interpreters.
Informational meetings and picnics at which potential parents can meet the children will be held during each trip. A fund-raiser with information about adoption is scheduled for today in Hanford.
Ten to 15 children ages 5-9 from an orphanage near Kiev, Ukraine, will come to Porterville during the first week of July. Sixteen children ages 6 and 7 will come from a Russian orphanage about 190 miles outside Moscow to Hanford the first week of August.
Exact dates aren't set because Adoption Ark still is awaiting approval of the children's visas.
Mary and Sam Closs of Terra Bella are anticipating what could be the newest members of their family. They will host siblings Andrei, 8, and Alina, 7, from Russia. Nine years ago, the couple adopted Alexander, now 12, from St. Petersburg.
The only information the Closses have about Andrei and Alina comes from a pair of photos and a few short sentences. Andrei is pale and unsmiling in his photo, but loves to play soccer and tell his little sister what to do.
In her photo, Alina wears pigtails and a dress and clutches a doll. Her bio says her favorite toy is a Barbie and that she hopes to own one of her own someday.
Russia and Ukraine don't have foster-care systems like the United States, said
Elina Filippova, Adoption Ark's president.
The orphanages aren't "evil places," she said, but they aren't run by Daddy Warbucks, either.
"A lot of these kids will be seeing a banana for the first time, or ice cream, or talking on the phone for the first time," Filippova said.
The Russian orphanage does not have hot water during the summer, and fruits and vegetables aren't plentiful.
"We have a lot of kids who have food-related anemia," she said. A few of the Russian children's photos show skinny legs clad in tights.
Some children were abandoned at birth or found roaming the streets as older children. Others' parents rights were revoked.
"They actually don't allow us to bring out kids with remote relatives. They have to be true orphans," Filippova said.
Adoptive parents must go through a long process that includes in-home interviews and background checks. The Russian and Ukranian governments usually require parents to make two trips to meet with the children, but the children's trip to the United States will mean families will only make one trip to Europe.
If all goes well with the Closses, they hope to fly to Ukraine in the fall to pick up Andrei and Alina.
The total cost to adopt -- including court fees, translator fees, drivers and other expenses -- is $15,500 for Russian children and $12,500 for Ukrainian children.
It's a financial sacrifice, said Cassandra Garcia, who hopes to adopt 6-year-old Alek from Ukraine. She and husband Dago already have three daughters, ages 8, 6 and 10 months, and would love to have a boy.
She said children in the United States will always have a foster home with a family to take care of them and a good education.
"Children in the orphanages ... they may not be getting that, and they may never have a chance of having a family," she said.
The Garcias know almost nothing about Alek. All they have is a picture. But they already know he will be the perfect addition to their family.
The reporter can be reached at bclough@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2421.
INFOBOX
IF YOU GO
What: Ice cream social to raise money and share information about orphans coming to the Valley who are in need of adoptive families
When: 6:30 p.m. today
Where: First United Methodist Church, 505 N. Redington St., Hanford
Details: Rhonda Smith at (559) 582-0658, or Adoption Ark at (510) 235-3818