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Bold New Trends in Adoption

What makes a single mom struggling to startstepped in to provide them with blankets and
up a new business, adopt a hard-to-place,food. Eventually the orphanage reopened, but
"special needs" child from another country?everything was completely destroyed,
Why would a perfectly happy, healthy, andincluding  the  children's  beds  and  toys.
content family take on a Down syndrome child
with heart complications, when the boy's ownNow what was the connection and motivation
mother chose to give him up at 6 weeks ofthat moved the Buckley's to adopt these two
age? And why would a New York family rescueyoung girls in the first place? Lorraine's
three frail and traumatized orphans from thedad was doing some volunteer work to build a
ravages  of  Liberia's  second  civil  war?home for an old Air Force buddy, who had
later turned to missionary work. While
We asked ourselves these questions as ourswapping time with other contractors to save
foundation's Board reviewed the granthis buddy money, Lorraine's father met yet
requests from these families. When mostanother missionary family in the area. That
people hear the term 'adoption,' we tend tofamily had already adopted one of the
think about couples faced with infertility,children from that Liberian orphanage, by the
or couples who are trying to put theirname of George. George had been spared from
step-families together to strengthen theirthe attack on the orphanage by being in the
family bond. These first three grantUS on tour with the Liberian Boy's Choir. It
requests to The Orphan Foundation bore notook a year for George to get up enough
similarities  to  those stereotypical images.courage to ask the missionary family to try
to find his sister, who was also living in
The  Smith  Case  -  Californiathat orphanage. The family was in shock.
They never even knew he had a sister! The
Madeleine Smith, the first recipient of anfamily agreed immediately, found his sister
adoption assistance grant from ourMala,  and  brought  her  to  the  States.
Foundation, is a very interesting woman. She
describes herself as having a big heart, withWhen the Buckley's went to visit Lorraine's
an even bigger pile of bills. When she foundparents during the December holidays of 2004,
her way to our Foundation, she was in thethey also met the other missionary family,
process of adopting Dang Jian, a "specialand the reunited siblings, George and Mala.
needs" child from China. The name she choseThe plight of these children thrust them into
for the 4-year old boy is "Elijah." Shemotion. Mala asked the Buckley's if they
describes Elijah as a wonderful child whowould help find her two roommates from the
loves to play outside, and is especially fondorphanage, Patience and Naomi. The Buckley's
of toy cars. His fifth birthday will be innot only found them, but by October 2005, the
December, so she's planning a very biggirls were on their way here to their new
celebration  when  he  arrives.home  with  the  Buckley's  in  New  York.
But that is only a small piece of the story.As fate would have it, when Lorraine's father
Dang Jian was placed in the "special needs"and husband went to pick-up the girls,
category by his China orphanage, and given toNaomi's parents brought her brother Abrous to
an adoption agency in Oregon to place. Dangthe Liberian orphanage when they came to see
Jian is missing his right ear, which isNaomi off. Abrous' parents asked that the
accompanied by marginal hearing on that side.Buckley's take Abrous as well as his sister
Adding to that malady are variousNaomi. It was not safe for any of them in
urinogenital and colorectal problems. TheseLiberia, and the parents were not only living
factors, along with his age, also put him inin abject poverty, their situation was made
the "hard-to-place" category of adoptions.even worse by Abrous' father being severely
And what does that mean? He was given thisinjured in a work accident. But in that
one last chance to be adopted before he wouldfirst round of adoptions, the Buckley's only
be  permanently  institutionalized  in China.succeeded in bringing the 7 and 9 year old
girls back to New York. Abrous had already
If China and the adoption world consideredbeen relinquished to the orphanage, but he
Elijah's problems as significantly daunting,was on a waiting list to get in, and of
why would a single mom struggling to grow acourse there was the mound of official
start-up music services business, step in topaperwork required, and all the money that
rescue him? Good question. But wait, therehad yet to be raised. Imagine that - on a
is  still  another  page  to  this  story.waiting  list  to  get  into  an  orphanage!
Elijah will be Madeleine's third "specialWhen they brought the two girls home to New
needs" child that she has adopted! And sheYork, Abrous returned home with his parents
also has a 22-year old college student son,to wait for an opening at the orphanage.
Donovan. Madeleine's other adopted childrenLuck finally prevailed, and at the end of
include her 7-year old son Michael, fromAugust, Abrous was one of 100-plus children
Bulgaria, and her 3-year old daughter Hana,admitted to the orphanage. The Buckley
from Guatemala. And just to make this randomfamily immediately went into motion trying to
act of love more difficult on her, Madeleineraise the money they needed to rescue Abrous,
decided she had to move from her 2-bedroomand once again, they reentered the adoption
apartment to a 3-bedroom apartment to makeprocess. Nearly 14 months later, in December
sure that there was enough room for Elijah inof 2006, their documents were finally clear
his  new  home.to send to Liberia, and the monies were
almost all in place to cover the country fees
Madeleine discovered Dang Jian, when a friendand other adoption costs. As of July 2007,
emailed her that she saw Dang Jian's story onthey are still waiting for word on the case,
an adoption agency's website, and describedand final passport clearance. The Buckley's
his impending fate. Madeleine found out thatare hoping that the adoption petition is
someone had put up an anonymous donation toeither in the Liberian courts or will be
help offset part of the adoption expenses,there  very  soon.
and that started Madeleine's wheels in
motion. With domestic adoptions averagingWhat did they want from The Orphan
$18,105 currently, and almost double thatFoundation? Financial help to complete the
internationally, due to travel costs,adoption. The families were all asked to go
document translations and other countrythrough the same United States adoption
specific requirements, this was the openingagency, which resulted in additional
break she needed. This was her chance toprocessing fees of $1,800. The Buckley's
give Elijah a home, and she'd worry about thewere now running out of sources to tap for
rest of his living and medical needs when hequick financial help, and were becoming more
was  in  her  care.anxious and desperate in the eleventh hour of
Abrous' rescue. Another unanimous vote from
Madeleine has since arranged for the UCLAthe Board, and another lost child in the
Craniofacial Center to replace Elijah'sworld  was  sent  a  lifeline.
missing ear. All she wanted from The Orphan
Foundation was enough money to finish herThese were definitely not the stories that we
legal paperwork with the State of California,expected to see in our first three grant
get the legal documents translated intorequests. Where was that stereotypical family
Chinese and certified, and have enough leftthat was starving for a child of their own,
over to pay her travel expenses to China tobut left barren by some cruel twist of
bring  "Elijah"  home.biological fate? Where was that known
connection between the parties that used
When we asked her why she was doing this, sheadoption to solidify a new marriage and
simply repeated what she said earlier - shefamily? These weren't childless parents
has a big heart. The only anchor on that biglooking to fill an empty space in their
heart seems to be that big pile of billsheart, or stepparents coming in to secure the
she's managed to build in the process. Ourbonds of their new family. These were a
Board could not have agreed more, and votedwhole new breed of parents, with a whole new
unanimously  to  grant  her  the  money.agenda  and  view  of  life.
The  Cancilla  Case  -  CaliforniaOur 12-person Board looked at each other in
astonishment. We just could not get our
Mary and Warren Cancilla, along with daughterheads around this left-turn in our world
Annalise, seemed truly overjoyed about 6-weekviews. We were seeing entirely different
old Harrison's arrival. Harrison would bepassions at play, complete with an
that new brother for Annalise, and theunfaltering commitment to see the long
perfect one boy, one girl family would arrivearduous adoption process through to the end,
in a small, quiet California town. However,so that they could then begin on the really
this family portrait turns out to be a bithard part of all this - raising children with
more unique than that. Harrison was bornsome  very  special  needs.
with Down syndrome, with the added rare heart
complication  called  tetralogy  of  Fallot.We told all three of these families that they
are the real heroes out there. Forget
Mary, a sign language interpreter, told usSuperwoman, Batman, and Spiderman. Meet
that they had been on the Down SyndromeMadeleine, the Cancilla's, and the Buckley's.
Association of Greater Cincinnati's waitingThese are the kind of quiet heroes we pass
list for 2 years. This seemed hardly a "spuron the streets each day, and had no clue that
of the moment" decision. When thethey even existed. They're made of the same
association called to tell the Cancilla'smettle as those courageous people, who rush
that Harrison's mother decided to give himinto burning buildings to save children,
up, and they were on the top of the list torescue a fallen soldier from enemy fire, or
receive a Downs syndrome child, they wererun down a thief who snatched an old woman's
overjoyed that their long wait was finallypurse. And then they want to quietly
over.disappear behind their private lives, shying
away from the cameras and lights of a press
What did they want from The Orphaneager to exploit their bravery and courage.
Foundation? Just some financial help withThese families don't even seem to know what
their adoption costs so that they could freeall the fuss is about. Wouldn't all of us do
up some money for the medical needs thatthe  same?
Harrison  will  be  facing.
Perhaps it was that small quote, nearly
Another unanimous vote, and another unnoticedhidden at the top of our home page that led
random act of love from just a regular kindthem  to  us  (
of family who chose to love a very special
boy."We ask that you not judge our success in
terms of "bottom lines." Instead, we ask to
The  Buckley  Case  -  New  Yorkbe measured by the number of "lifelines" we
extend to the homeless children of this
When we talked with Lorraine Buckley she toldworld."
us all about the incidents that led up to
their finding Abrous, the brother of one ofPerhaps we were never alone in our mission to
the two girls that they had already adoptedfind these children a family to love them, to
from an orphanage in Liberia - an orphanagecherish their worth, and to give them hope.
that had been overrun by soldiers duringEither way, bear witness to the birth of a
Liberia's deadly civil wars. A badly beatenwhole new breed of family. Meet the new
orphanage director managed to save the"tutelaries of hope," the real guardians of
children from harm, by convincing theour world's children. They know no bigotry,
soldiers that some of the children might beno deception, nor bias of thought that would
their own. The soldiers confiscated all ofever prevent them from the simple act of
the orphans' food, but allowed the childrenloving a child that would otherwise be lost
to vacate the orphanage. The children walkedto the world. We think this is a bright and
for two days in search of shelter, with atshining light in the distant skies, and we
most, a handful of rice for each day of theirchoose to call that light "hope ascending.
journey. The UN came to their rescue, and



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