A new family; a new beginning.
Today, I received an email from Rod and Vivian. They just returned from a trip to the Philippines. What makes this trip special, not only for the couple but also for my family was that they were able to bring home to the USA little Melanie.
You see, little Melanie was from an orphanage and was matched to Rod and Vivian. After months of processing the documents, Melanie was finally adopted and given clearance to fly with her new parents to California.
Rod and Vivian was able to adopt Melanie with the help of the Inter-country Adoption Bureau (ICAB) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development(DSWD).
When I was back in the Philippines I was privileged to have worked for DSWD and saw how momentous these events were. I saw this scene before - when the would-be parents meet face-to-face with their new child. There was this anticipation and the initial awkward feeling of how the parties should react to seeing each other for the first time. But all these will soon be over as the warmth of the hugs and the longing takes place. It was also an emotional moment for the care givers who took care of Melanie for the the first 19 months It was a painful good bye but at the same time a sigh of relief because they know she's in good hands.
For the new parents it would be like welcoming a new born into the family. Tears of joy may have been shed by the parents as they hold their child for the first time.
But what breaks my heart is the look on the face of the children who will have to wait for their turn to be adopted. Their good byes are as equally painful as they bravely put on brave faces. To see their friend leave the center is not that pleasant but they understand that is how it is in their world.
If you want to adopt a child try to check with ICAB. Who knows you might be the next happy couple as Rod and Vivian are now.
To Rod and Vivian congratulations for having Melanie!
By the way all the parties involved are Filipinos.
You see, little Melanie was from an orphanage and was matched to Rod and Vivian. After months of processing the documents, Melanie was finally adopted and given clearance to fly with her new parents to California.
Rod and Vivian was able to adopt Melanie with the help of the Inter-country Adoption Bureau (ICAB) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development(DSWD).
When I was back in the Philippines I was privileged to have worked for DSWD and saw how momentous these events were. I saw this scene before - when the would-be parents meet face-to-face with their new child. There was this anticipation and the initial awkward feeling of how the parties should react to seeing each other for the first time. But all these will soon be over as the warmth of the hugs and the longing takes place. It was also an emotional moment for the care givers who took care of Melanie for the the first 19 months It was a painful good bye but at the same time a sigh of relief because they know she's in good hands.
For the new parents it would be like welcoming a new born into the family. Tears of joy may have been shed by the parents as they hold their child for the first time.
But what breaks my heart is the look on the face of the children who will have to wait for their turn to be adopted. Their good byes are as equally painful as they bravely put on brave faces. To see their friend leave the center is not that pleasant but they understand that is how it is in their world.
If you want to adopt a child try to check with ICAB. Who knows you might be the next happy couple as Rod and Vivian are now.
To Rod and Vivian congratulations for having Melanie!
By the way all the parties involved are Filipinos.
These children are still lucky vs the streetkids that wander around... and I admire people's dedication in taking care of these kids in orphanages.
ReplyDeleteWatson! What's up? True, these children are luckier than most. But we have a non-government organization that is trying to address the street children problem. You can check out a success story here - http://www.cabrinifoundation.org/News/dennis.html
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