Pregnancy and Adoption Resources

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.

Since my last post, the international adoption process has continuoualy moved forward in Nepal. The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (the Ministry) in Nepal announced that they would only accept ten families per agency at this current time. The Kathmandu Post reported that of all the agencies that were registered, only fifty dossiers had been submitted to the Ministry. New Beginnings has been successful in filling all ten available slots. Of those ten families, five have dossiers that have been sent over to Nepal and their wait process has begun…check back for updates on these five families that are pursuing a Nepal international adoption or visit www.NewBeginningsAdoptions.org for current news.

If you or someone you know may be interested in adopting from Nepal or another country, please contact me at the New Beginnings office 662.842.6752 or at marcusdavenport@nbicfs.org.

New Beginnings, Crisis Pregnancy & You

NEW BEGINNINGS International Children’s & Family Services promotes LIFE for the unborn child, HOPE and NEW BEGINNINGS for BIRTH MOTHERS in CRISIS PREGNANCY situations, and “Forever Families” for children through a variety of ministry programs. CRISIS PREGNANCY and MATERNITY CARE services are provided to birth mothers FREE of charge and under the umbrella of Christ’s LOVE and COMPASSION. Our goal is to serve you in a warm, safe and loving environment while you seek direction and a “NEW BEGINNING.”

Families are invited to contact us for information about DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION. Thank you for contacting us today, even if you’re just beginning the adoption journey and need to ask a few questions. And…Thank you for considering New Beginnings where a “NEW BEGINNING“ awaits you. We’re here for you…

Tom Velie, LMSW
Executive Director
Adoption is the option that both you and your baby can “live” with

Visit New Beginnings Adoptions for more information.