There are many rumors and interesting tidbits of information seeping out of Nepal. Will adoptions be processed in 2010? Will the Nepali government continue to strive to meet Hague Accreditation Standards? Nepal…the home of the New Beginnings of Nepal Children’s Home.
What would you like to know about adoptions from Nepal? Questions? Please send them to tom@newbeginningsadoptions.org
Okay, the news today is about the Baptists and the children they spirited out of Haiti to the Dominican Republic. I’m wondering how the story will end, but while it may have been “heartfelt,” it was really a dumb thing to do. I.e., we need passports to get into Canada these days and they think they can move children to from one country to the next? C’mon!
Moving on…
Adoption ISN’T happening out of Haiti EXCEPT for children who were already in the process. If you didn’t have a “horse in the race” before the earthquake, go home!
Here’s the problem, as I see it. Lots of folks with bleeding hearts–if you aren’t feeling a little pain, you aren’t alive. First of all GIVE. Give through your local church–if they are sending 100% to Haiti. Give to the Red Cross. Give to Global International Outreach. Don’t complain about Secretary Clinton or the State Department. They’re doing what is right! Trust me on this one.
Secondly, pray about adoption in the future. Alright, you say that God has spoken to you. Well…have you ever asked Him about adopting in the past? Or, did Fox News stir your heart? Well…pray about adoption and adopting as if He just might have a child in mind other than one from Haiti. Give us a call at New Beginnings, Google “adoption.” Check out AdoptUSKids.com or call your local Human Service Department. Some child’s life and future may be dependent on your prayers.
Still interested in Haiti? I’ll post something once in awhile, but GO TO THE SOURCE…www.Adoption.State.Gov. This is THE BEST SITE ON HAITIAN ADOPTION so quit looking for some other answer.
Please, if some bozo at some adoption agency says they can get you a Haitian child, trust me…RUN! Until Secretary Clinton and the State Department say “OK,” it isn’t going to happen. Just think…”Baptists in jail as Tom types.” And by all means…DO NOT GIVE ANYONE MONEY TO START YOUR CASE. AND, DON’T DO A HOMESTUDY…unless you spending money on an update in a few months or years is worth more expense. You can locate a good provider and then keep that cash in your wallet…until Haiti really opens up.
Another trusted site…if you want to read more…www.AdoptionCouncil.org
Now…pray for the children
Tom
P.S. Just found this MSNBC article
“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:4-7) Life is so fleeting. Just as the Word of God says, often people spend it “bustling about,” and His Word says that this is all “in vain.” Everything temporal that we see seems as if it will last forever, and so our time, energy, and effort are often put into building comfortable lives for ourselves and accumulating all of the “things” that seem to matter so much but that have no value of eternal investment. Life is real…it isn’t about seeking comfort and ease and it isn’t about avoiding all things difficult and uncomfortable. And it’s also not going to last forever. We have a very specific, very limited amount of time that God has given each and every one of us on earth…time to move and to breathe, to work and to play, to love and to give, to live and to die. How we spend the time is completely our own choice. It seems as if we’re naturally inclined to try and build the “American dream,” because it seems like a happy, comfortable life. Pouring out and giving is the hard road. But it’s the best one. We must each look for opportunities of service in the individual situation and circumstance God has placed us in. We can each have some type of ministry to one another, whether we’re living in suburban America or the slums of a third world country.New Beginnings cherishes its ministry to the orphans of Nepal. These orphans, though we don’t know most of them personally, are close to our hearts and we love them in a very deep and real way. God is faithfully continuing to lead us in our work in this country. More than 250 dossiers for families from all registered adoption agencies in the country have been sent and are awaiting matching with a child. At least three families that we know of have already been matched with children…three more children with people to call “family,” places to call “home.”
New Beginnings doesn’t seek to “heap up wealth, not knowing who will get it.” We seek to help these children in a way that will last longer than our agency or any of its employees lasts. Just as King David states, our hope is in God. Our hope is that an eternal difference will be made in the lives of these children. It is our hope to build with more than just “hay or straw” (1 Corinthians 3:12). At the end of man’s life, when his time on earth is coming to a close and his days are ending, may he be able to say that he helped more than just himself. May he be able to say that he, in some way, invested eternally into the life of another and into a purpose or cause that will last longer than his days on earth.
NEW BEGINNINGS ADOPTION & FAMILY SERVICES
Tupelo, Mississippi
2009 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Domestic Adoptions
New Beginning’s domestic adoption program is one of the foundations of our ministry to women in crisis pregnancy. With the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the number of birthmothers opting to carry their pregnancy to term has decreased dramatically. Coupled with the greater acceptance of single parenting, the number of single pregnant women deciding to carry their child to term AND to place their child for adoption has dropped to less than 1%. The challenge for New Beginnings is to make sure that women with an unplanned pregnancy know the truth of what confidential or open adoption (the level of confidentiality or openness is entirely the birthmother’s choice) has to offer them and their expected child. Debbie Velie (Domestic Program Director, LBSW) and Renae Hellen (LBSW), our birthmother counselors, have done a very effective job of counseling with women and supporting them even when they do not choose adoption.
Unfortunately for honest birthmothers and adoptive families, the world of domestic adoptions has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Where the emphasis used to be on the counseling of birthmothers to make good decisions for their expected child, the field is now dominated by for-profit, non-licensed adoption facilitators. These organizations typically charge $20,000 or more just to connect a family with a birthmother. The revenues generated enable them to have a very attractive presence on the internet and to advertise in newspapers and yellow pages throughout the country. Frequently birthmothers seeing these ads have no idea where the facilitator is geographically located and personal counseling is often waived in favor or receiving financial assistance with their pregnancy expenses.
We have placed 16 children for adoption through our domestic program thus far in 2008 and are currently working with six birthmothers who are making an adoption plan for their expected child. This compares with the placement of 17 children in 2008, but there are still a few days left in December!
Since some families choose to adopt independently through adoption attorneys without the benefit of pre- or post-adoption services, we also provide homestudies in Mississippi for these families at a very reasonable cost. In addition to increased outreach to churches, hospital social workers, school counselors and partnering with other Christian agencies around the country, we are seeking to build our domestic adoption program through advertising that targets the most vulnerable, pregnant birthmothers.
International Adoptions
We have experienced both successes and disappointments with our international adoption program this year.
Hague Accreditation: It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of attaining accreditation under the Hague Inter-Country Adoption Act. New Beginnings achieved 2-year temporary Accreditation in April 2008 and will finalize its 5-year Accreditation process in January 2010. This has been a long, arduous and expensive process. But without it, we would be crippled in our efforts to reach out to the orphaned children of the world with the hope of permanent families. Marcus Davenport (International Program Director) has become our resident expert “on all things Hague,” and our President, Tom Velie (LMSW) is an evaluator for the Council on Accreditation for site visits for other agencies. Our current Hague Accreditation does not expire until April 2010 so we are very comfortable with achieving our 5-year Accreditation in plenty of time. It is significant to note that several agencies which were denied Hague Accreditation have closed their doors. Even for countries which have not implemented the Hague Treaty, the gold standard for quality of services is Hague Accreditation by the Council on Accreditation. In addition, New Beginnings has the largest and best qualified team of Hague-qualified social workers in Mississippi. We are very thankful for the Lord’s help in achieving this level of professionalism.
Nepal Registration: Twenty-five American adoption agencies are registered in the country of Nepal and New Beginnings is thankful to be one of these agencies. Ten adoptive family dossiers are on file with the Ministry of Women, Children & Social Welfare in Kathmandu, Nepal awaiting their matches with children. Ten more families are in the process of completing their dossiers for 2010. Unfortunately, political unrest in Nepal has delayed the administrative process of matching the children in Nepal, but we are told that a new minister is now in place and that the process may proceed more smoothly.
Our Nepali Humanitarian Service Coordinator, Mr. Bobby Adhikari, through generous donations made by a wonderful Christian family, and through the “New Beginnings of Nepal” monthly partnership program donors, opened an orphan home for 10 children in June 2009. What a great testimony this is to the vision of the New Beginnings Founders, Stephen and Evelyn Drury, and to the dedication of “Brother Bobby.”
Poland: New Beginnings is now licensed with the Polish government to provide adoptive services in Poland and is accepting applications for this program. We have hired our Polish Representative and adoptive families can have confidence that their adoption process will proceed smoothly. This program is ideal for the adoptive family that is interested in adopting children over the age of five (some younger children may be available in sibling groups).
Other countries: New Beginnings is in the process of investigating and possibly opening other country programs in several countries. Information will be provided on this website when details are finalized. We are carefully considering other opportunities to reach out to children in orphanages in other parts of the world, but do not want to duplicate already successful programs by our partner agencies.
Summary: It is difficult to write such a short summary of the activities of our agency for an entire year. Our staff has done a remarkable job under very trying circumstances and I am proud of each of them. Some are well known to our clients and some work behind the scenes. But each has made a contribution to our mission.
Please join us in praying for increased activity in 2010 and the opportunity for more children to find their permanent homes. Every Child Deserves a Forever Family.
Kantipur Report
KATHMANDU, Sept 9 - After a gap of one and half years three Nepali children are all set to land in the U.S with their new adoptive parents. This was made possible for three orphaned girls —Anita Himali, Anisha Sai and Santi Sai — after the government approved their documents related to inter-country adoption.
The adoptive mothers are Bonnie Lee Donohue of Wisconsin, Michelle Kyla Blanchard-Roma of Louisiana and Dr. Teryl Rae Elam of Alaska.
Donohue, who is a general manager in the food service sector, has been matched with three-year-old Himali, Blanchard-Roma, who is a reputed Louisiana-based attorney, has been matched with two-year-old Anisha, and reputed Alaska-based physician, Elam has been matched with nearly one-year-old Santi.
The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) has informed the Nepali representatives of the US adoption agency about the decision, calling the adopting mothers to take their daughters as per their convenience, according to officials at MWCSW.
This will be the first batch of Nepali children to go abroad with their new parents after seven months of adoption process.
On September 25, Bobby Adhikari will be coming to New Beginnings for a month long visit!! We’ve all been excitedly anticipating Bobby’s visit for quite some time now. As mentioned in our last newsletter, Bobby is our in-country adoption coordinator for our Nepal program. He will be the person who walks our families through the adoption process when they travel to Nepal to adopt their children. Through the past couple of years, Bobby has become a friend and a huge help to our staff here. Our Executive and International Directors keep in regular contact with him through email, and a few of our staff have had the pleasure of meeting Bobby face to face and spending a few days with him in Nepal. He’s been our lifeline in Nepal, helping to make possible much of the work that we’ve done there so far.
While in the United States, we’ll be keeping Bobby very busy! He’ll be traveling to several churches and other engagements to speak and share with others firsthand about the work going on in Nepal and how God is moving there. Bobby will also be able to attend our 7th Annual Celebration of Adoption banquet this year, with Michael Reagan as the speaker. The primary goal of Bobby’s visit will be to raise money to help support the New Beginnings of Nepal Orphanage. Bobby is the director of the orphanage. He has a huge heart for children and a deep love for God, and by combining these two things, he will make an excellent director.
If you are interested in becoming a New Beginnings monthly sponsor, you can specify that your support be put toward our Nepal Orphan Fund. Please contact us if interested at (662) 842-6752 or help@newbeginningsadoptions.org. Any help to benefit these children does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated!! You may also check out the website that Bobby has started for the orphanage: http://www.newbeginningschildhome.com/.
There is still no sign of referrals from Nepal for New Beginnings families. Hopefully, they will come soon. It appears that some of our families have been matched and that their files are awaiting “consent” by the Minister? of MOWCSW. Did I mention that no one currently holds this position? Other agencies have received referrals so I am assuming that this position was recently vacated. Let’s pray for Nepal, MOWCSW, and the families in the program. For more information on the Nepal Adoption Program, please visit www.NewBeginningsAdoptions.org or call 662.842.6752.
Check back for an update on the Polish Adoption Program and the Sri Lankan Adoption Program.
The face of the little boy smiled from the photograph that we received in an email from our Nepal coordinator. We opened a few more photographs of him…one of him sitting in front of a plate of food (and enjoying it by the looks of it), one of him sitting in front of our coordinator’s computer, another of him standing in a doorway, and another of him in which he looked distraught…sad, angry even. This little boy, Rajesh*, is the first child in the New Beginnings of Nepal orphanage since a building was purchased to house the children.
Rajesh looks to be about five years old and really is a beautiful child. Our Nepal coordinator shared a few details about Rajesh in his brief email. He said that Rajesh came from the far western part of Nepal. His mother had died, and his father had left home and never returned. Orphaned, abandoned, alone, and frightened….We can only begin to imagine how this little boy must have felt, how he still must feel, and what he’s already seen in his short life. I suppose if anyone had a reason to look distraught, he did.
I listened to a song the other day and loved one of the ideas that the song conveyed….hope can be frail, but it’s hard to kill. It is our prayer to plant hope into the hearts of children like Rajesh and then to nurture that hope until it grows into something beautiful. I opened another picture of Rajesh from the email. It was a close up face shot, close enough to see the details of his sweet face – the cleft in his chin, his short brown hair with a cowlick near his hairline, the eyes that looked like pools of brown. And his smile. His smile was wide and genuine. Maybe he’s already beginning to feel the love of his new caretakers, and maybe he’s already beginning to feel the hope of a better life. God has great and mighty plans for little ones like Rajesh; may we have hope that those great and mighty plans can be realized for them, and may God bless you for helping these children to have hope and a future.
*Name has been changed.
Kathmandu: A meeting was held today between the consulates, embassies of various countries in Nepal and the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare to discuss and update International Adoption of Nepal. The meeting was coordinated by the German Embassy here in Nepal.
The Ministry briefed the international offices about a “Code of Conduct “which the government is planning to introduce to stake holders of international adoption which would include the orphanages, representatives and agencies. A participant of the meeting said that this Code of Conduct however did not speak about anything for the Ministry ” themselves” who with the centralization of process has become the key players of adoption.
The ministry also updated in the meeting that almost two hundred fifty dossiers have been registered, however the ministry did not “openly” state about the matching status said a participant. He added that several important questions raised by the embassies and consulates were not clarified by the Nepal officials, the counsels were not satisfied with govt. response to their questions. Meanwhile according to a reliable source the Ministry has matched children from three families of American Agency Holt International.
The ministry has directly mailed the referral package to these three families. This has taken the representatives here and adoption agencies abroad by surprise. “Nepal has just ratified the Hague and according to Hague communication with the family has to be through the Agency” said one of the representative from the Adoption Agencies Representative Forum Nepal (AARFN) “ We representatives are confused and surprised by Ministry’s step of sending the child referral directly to the families, there is a system which the New Terms and Conditions have laid down and the government should walk on those lines”.
The new rules states of families going through an approved agency.
The government had last year invited application from agencies abroad and approved and accredited 68 adoption agencies earlier to work for international Adoption from Nepal.
Repurposed…That’s a word that’s been in the back (sometimes the front) of my mind for the past year. I did this bible study named…Repurposed last summer and I honestly haven’t been the same since. Through viewing the life of Nehemiah, I was shown how God can take even the most broken things and use them for His Kingdom…in essence Repurposing them from hopelessness to usefulness, from crumbling to thriving. All this from a story about a guy rebuilding some city walls with a bunch of refugees. It’s all about taking something broken down and destined to be cast aside and restoring it to beauty!
That’s where adoption comes in. Adoption is the ultimate act of Repurposing that we can perform. In essence, an adoptive parent and birthmother are taking a child that statistically will fall into a life of crime and purposelessness and placing him or her in a family that will help that child find meaning and hope.
Abortion just seems to run counter to everthing good in life. I’m not trying to be insensitive, but it seems as if it’s an admission that there is no hope for anything but a bleak existence, that things can’t Change…that the place you’re in is the place you’ll always be in…That there is no way to be Repurposed into something new…
Adoption not abortion is the answer to the BIG question of “How do we curb the rising crime rates associated with children growing up with absent parents or no parents?”
Children (contrary to popular representations in media) are not consumer products…they are unique individuals with souls and dreams and aspirations of their own…if the path they’re born into seems broken and bleak, that path can be Repurposed in a very real way through the gift of adoption…birthmothers who place for adoption are not women who just want to get rid of a kid…they are women who are most concerned about the welfare of the child inside of them…
Repurpose some things in your life…consider adoption…