Tag: orphans with special needs

Do you have heart issues? i have heart issues, both physical and psychological. If you have been following my blog for a couple of months, you would have read about my medical heart issues – i have a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), a hole-in-my-heart.

But i also suffer from the other type of heart issues – heartaches, emotionally confusions, frustrations, sadness, sense of lost and much more, just like any other person who lives on this earth. Some of us have more emotional baggage to handle than others, but all of us do have some.

Again, if you have been following my blog, you will realise that my heart aches for orphans, in particular, special needs orphans and every Tuesday i join a small group of advocates who write about specific children, hoping to give them more exposure, praying that this small effort would bring them closer to be found by their forever family.

Does this effort have any effect at all? i’m not sure, but i hope and pray that it does. What i do know is that i can not sit and do nothing when i know there are precious children languishing without a family to love them, just as they are. So i do what little i can, if not, my heart would truly break.

So let me introduce you to a pair of siblings who have heart issues. Meet Mason and Madison.

They both have cardiac issues, mitral valve prolapse of 1 stage. Mason (the younger of the pair) also has supplemental oblique cord of the left ventricle and scoliosis. Madison has a humpback.

We don’t know much more about them, except that they are both in the same orphanage (at least they have each other) and they have to be adopted together.

What we do know is that they have spent way too many years in an orphanage, so long in fact, Madison will be aging of the system in a few months (Sept 2013). i also see the kindness in Madison‘s eyes and that cheeky side of Mason still shining through despite years of institution living.

Are you their family? Do you see this pair a part of your household? If you think so, please contact Reece’s Rainbow for more details.

Even if you don’t feel led to adopt, you can still help them. You can share their story so that through your sharing, somehow, their forever family would see them and come for them.

You can also help to grow their adoption grant so that when their family does come for them, it will be a quicker process and funding would be less of an obstacle. Please click on their name or picture to donate.

You can pray for them, pray for their daily needs and for their forever family to come for them.

Thank you.

syc

… that’s this month’s focus for Teamwork Tuesday.

My brother and i are a whole twelve years apart and as you can imagine, we are as different as two people can be and YET – we are also very alike in so many ways. We like the same films, love animation and other media-related stuff, we share a similar sense of humour but he loves the cold weather while i prefer the warmth of the sunshine, he eats spicy foods while i stay away from the chillies, i love to read and he prefers to watch a story unfold on a screen.

i suspect Ginger and Jamie are also very much like us in their sibling relationship. Ginger is described as a spitfire and Jamie is described as the helper. They both love to have the attention of loving adults. BUT that is where their similarities with us end.

You see, Ginger and Jamie are orphans with special needs who live in a country which can not, and whose society finds it hard, to accept and support them. So they are put into remote orphanages, hidden away and they are moved to adult mental institutions at the age of 5 (some are fortunate and get to stay a little longer in their orphanages).

Ginger and Jamie are twins and share a few medical conditions such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), myopia, organic affection of the central nervous, vision issues and mental retardation. Ginger also has nanism of somatic genesis. Jamie has congenital hypotheriosis.

All these medical terms may sound daunting but they are all treatable and manageable. They just need more care and attention than a child without these conditions. But that doesn’t mean they can’t fit into a family, in fact, i submit that they would fit perfectly into because they are said to be very social and friendly and would thrive with lots of love, structure, and attention.

They deserve, just like any child, to have a family love and support them, help them to navigate life and make the most of it. Are you that family? If you think so, if you feel that tug on your heart, then please contact Reece’s Rainbow for more information.

However, you don’t have to adopt them to help them. You can pray for them. Pray that their daily needs are met and most importantly, pray that their forever family steps forward for them.

You can also share their story so that forever family would find them.

And by giving towards their adoption grant, you can further help that forever family reach them faster as everyone knows adoption, international adoption is a ridiculously expensive affair. The faster a family can get them home, the less permanent damage from institutional life they will suffer. Please click on their names or pictures to go to their profile page to donate.

Thank you.

syc

Yes, adopting a child has costs attached to it and if you are talking about international adoption, the costs could go through the roof! So you could say there is a price for adoption BUT the question which tugs at my heart is…

What is the price of NOT adopting?

This same question was asked by Amy Adair on Thinkchristian.net.

She was faced with questions when she brought home her sweet Evie from China. One of the questions was, “How much? How much did she cost?”

That is such a crude and calculating way of seeing adoption but i guess that’s the way some people, who have not adopted and are not involved in the adoption community in some way, would see it.

How does God see it? i will borrow Amy’s words here.

It was never God’s intention for children to grow up in an orphanage without the love of a mother or father. Clearly God weeps for those who suffer, especially the fatherless. In fact, in Matthew 19:14, Jesus berates his disciples for turning children away from him. Jesus invites the children to stay and declares that the kingdom of Heaven belongs not to the grown-ups but to the kids. It is one of the many beautiful pictures in the Bible that illustrates God as our Abba or Father.

It is also a call to action. Just as Jesus welcomed the children, he asks us to reach out to the neediest to the least of these.

But what could you do? You could step forward and adopt.

i would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a pair of sisters, Karen and Chrystyna.

Karen is already 17 and as such can not be adopted on her own BUT if a family would adopt her together with her little sister, Chrystyna, they (the sisters) could be together again. They currently live in different orphanages in the same region.

Let me tell you a little bit more about Karen.
She is a beautiful Roma girl with dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. She is 16 years old. She is healthy and smart and has no diagnosed special needs. She goes to school and has no negative behavioral issues. She is just a teen in need of a loving family.

Her sister, Chrystyna, is believed to have FAS, which can have wide variation of effects on each child, both medically, physically, and cognitively. But she was recently transferred from the institution to a much better facility where she is receiving some form of teaching and appears to be well-cared for. The difference is clearly seen between the girls who have moved to the new facility. A family, who met her last year, reports that she has lots of potential and a family would do her well.

If you feel that these girls can be a part of your family, please contact Reece’s Rainbow for more information.

However, it is true that not everyone is called to adopt. But you can take the call to action up in other ways.

You can pray for these sisters. Pray that their needs are met, pray that a family comes for them real soon.

You can also share their story so that their forever family might see them.

You can help to defray the costs of adoption by growing Chrystyna‘s adoption grant. Please click on her name or picture to contribute. (There is only a grant for Chrystyna because Karen can not be adopted on her own, Karen needs to be adopted with her sister.)

They have an advocate in You Will Go Out With Joy. Click here to read more about what she has to say about Karen and Chrystyna.

Thank you

syc

Please go here to read Amy’s whole article.