Heta Nua
⬤
public
2005 Jan 1
placement
facilitation
institution
Heta Nua (aka Heta Sioka) dies due to neglest in FOC nanny house in Samoa. She was undernourished, and a skin infection and a respiratory tract infection. Focus on Children has convinced her parents to place Heta and her brother in the nanny house to facilitate an international adoption. Mother Avea Nua said she wanted a good future for her children Semi and Heta. Believing they would be cared for by a family who shared their Mormon faith, then returned home, the Nuas agreed to surrender the children to Focus on Children. It is unlikely her parents knew the western meaning of adoption.
Karen Banks and Coleen Bartlett of FOC were briefly detained in Samoa after Heta's death.
Karen Banks and Coleen Bartlett of FOC were briefly detained in Samoa after Heta's death.