“…special needs kids are just kids. Just kids that need moms and dads to love them and take care of them. To treat them like any other kid. They are no less deserving of a loving family and parents to take care of them than any other child…”
That’s what Amber over at Skyward Journey said when she wrote about special needs adoption.
And it is so true. Every child deserves a loving family and parents who will take care of them, they need people they can depend on to support them, teach them, guide them, help them through life; special needs or not.
Can you picture this lovely girl with a beautiful bow in her hair, a pretty little dress, laughing, running at full speed towards mum & dad?
She is an orphan who is special in every way… she has Down Syndrome and just looking at her, i know she has a wonderful personality just waiting to shine. She needs a mummy and daddy who would help her shine, help her show off how special she truly is.
Unfortunately, she lives in a country where her extra chromosome is considered a burden rather than a hidden blessing waiting to be discovered. So what awaits her is life in an adult mental institution for the rest of her life. She could be transferred real soon. She is 4 years old.
But this festive season she has a person she can depend on; her Angel Tree Warrior who is working hard to raise awareness and to raise funds for her adoption grant. See here for more about what her AT warrior has planned.
Would you show Kaleigh a little love by giving towards her adoption grant? It would take anywhere from US$25,000 to US$40,000 or more in paperwork and adoption fees before a family can bring her home. Please go here to donate or click on her name/picture.
Please do also pray for her, for her daily needs to be met and most of all, for her forever family to come for her real soon. Do also share her story so more may know about her and more may help.
syc
PS: Go here to read the whole article i quoted from at the beginning of this post. Special Needs Adoption « Skyward Journey. You can also read about other aspects of special needs adoption there.
Yes that’s right having that extra chromosome is a blessing… not just to the person who has it but to everyone involved in that extra special person’s life.
Since joining Reece’s Rainbow some 9 months ago as a prayer warrior and advocate for special needs orphans, it has been a delight to my ears to hear children having loving families come for them, even better than that, my ears ring with joy, when i hear not just how the child is blessed but how each and every member of the family who adopted a Down Syndrome child (or a child with other special needs) are so blessed by the new addition. How it has changed their perspective in life, for the better. How much happiness has entered their lives since they brought home their extra special child.
Among 2,044 parents or guardians surveyed, 79 percent reported their outlook on life was more positive because of their child with Down syndrome…
…among siblings ages 12 and older, 97 percent expressed feelings of pride about their brother or sister with Down syndrome and 88 percent were convinced they were better people because of their sibling with Down syndrome.
You have an opportunity now to help one of these children with that extra wonderful chromosome.
Unlike the children who have taken part in the above surveys, Carter has no loving family who could give him the care and support he needs to live his life to the fullest of his abilities. He is an orphan. And in his country children with special needs are not regarded with the same eyes, they are seen as less than worthy.
But he is worthy. Every life is worthy and should be given every opportunity to take life head on and raise above all the ups and downs which make up life itself. He is worthy, simply because God made him the way he is; extra special. But he needs your help to have these opportunities.
You can help Carter by sharing his story so that his forever family might find him and come to bring him home. You can help Carter by praying for him and his daily needs, and most importantly, for his loving family to be found.
Having enough funds would be the biggest burden his forever family would have, so Carter‘s Angel Tree Warrior is having a wonderful Christmas for Carter Giveaway where you can get a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy 2 Tablet, a LeapPad 2 bundle, and lots of other awesome prizes! Please see here for details. You can also follow the extra special fundraiser for 4 other orphans run by the same advocate on this Facebook page.
If you feel led to, you can also give directly towards Carter‘s adoption grant (which would greatly help his forever family to reach him easier). You can do that here, or click on his name or picture to go to his profile page.
My sweet Wesley thanks you for your very generous contributions to his adoption grant.
Before i announce the winners, i would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all the generous donors and to everyone who has shared Wesley‘s story to the world. You guys and gals have made a difference to the life of Wesley, a special needs orphan, who is now no longer unnoticed, no longer uncared for because you all have cared for him, you all have been mindful of him and his needs and have put his needs above yours.
THANK YOU.
Now for some numbers.
Wesley started with only US$252.50 in his adoption grant on 30th October 2012 which was when this Precious One Giveaway was started. When the contributions came in that first day, i was so very happy. Then things sort of stalled and i wondered why. i wondered what else i could do. i thought i would make little cards to hand out to people to raise awareness. But God had other plans. He inspired me, gave me courage to start writing personal appeal letters. That first day i sent out to about 14 people. They so wonderfully pushed Wesley’s fund to just below US$500, which was our initial target. Encouraged, i raised the target to US$1000 and went on to send out more letters of appeal. Everyday a couple of people would respond. i was in awe as i watched God move hearts and hands for Wesley. Then there were a few days with no responses. i was a little sad but not worried as i knew a few people were considering their contribution amounts. Then a few more responded and then a big donation and then a bigger one came in and that pushed Wesley over the US$1000 mark! i was thrilled to bits.
i am so happy to report that Wesley‘s adoption grant (at time of writing) is at US$1199.00. That’s a total of US$946.50 raised by all of you in just 5 weeks!
Once again, THANK YOU to both donors and sharers of Wesley‘s story. Building awareness is half the job.
Now onto the winners:
All contributors were given a certain amount of entries based on the amount they contributed and also when they share Wesley‘s story. (Some have declined to be included in this draw as they felt that wasn’t why they donated, others felt the postage costs should go to Wesley instead of into sending them a gift. Still others have declined to be even named.) Each entry is given a number. i have used Random.org to generate three random numbers and these are the winners.
1) Swarovski Silver Crystal Figurine – Dog. = Brenda Tham
3) Semi-Precious Stones Charm Bracelet. = Carol Ho
i will be contacting the winners via Facebook PM or email.
If you have considered donating to Wesley, but have missed this Giveaway, i pray that you would still go ahead and donate. The total costs of an international adoption from Wesley‘s region is between US$30,000 to US$45,000. So even though we have made a small dent in his adoption grant, much more is still needed for a family to finally, legally call him their own.
If you would, i also ask you to consider giving to one of these families who are adoption from Asia, the region where Wesley lives in. Please see my post entitled, All for Asia to find out more about these adopting families and their needs. They also have many giveaways and auctions you can take part in to help them raise funds to bring home their children.
If you want to help even more special needs orphans, please check out Julia’s wonderful BIG Giveaway here. She has some wonderful prizes and she is aiming to help all the orphans on Angel Tree this festive season. Please do consider helping these precious ones as getting adopted would offer them a chance to live a full life.
Do continue to share Wesley‘s story and pray for him, his daily needs and most importantly, pray for his forever family to step forward and claim him as their own.
Please do also remember my little Heath, who (by God’s grace) has a full grant but is still waiting for his forever family. The place where Heath is in, is really not very good. They don’t have enough staff; ; i’m not sure that they even have enough to feed the children properly and most definitely no time or energy to do anything more than put what little food they have in front of the kids there; they don’t have anything (i truly mean absolutely nothing) except four walls, beds, tables and chairs. Please pray for Heath‘s daily needs to be met, pray for the other children in his institute too. Please for Heath‘s forever family to step forward and claim him as their own.
trippingdifferently 