Find Families for Older Colombian Orphan Children

Drawn to Kidsave’s mission of helping find families for older orphans and foster children Marla and Dan stumbled across Kidsave on the Internet. They decided to “host” a Colombian orphan in need of an adoptive family. Hosting is a way for families and kids to get to know one another over a few weeks together.

In June of 2017, Aura arrived with a group of other hosted orphans participating in Kidsave’s Summer Miracles program. Dan and Marla were part of a group of host families greeting the kids (12 of them) at LAX. They’d made a fancy welcome sign with batteryoperated LED lights – full of color and butterflies. “We were both very excited to meet Aura and we wanted her to feel welcome,” said Dan. (Kids also arrived to live with host families in six other parts of the country that day.)

“Aura was the first kid we saw (coming through the doors at the airport) walking by herself with a big smile on her face. When we met, she gave us the sweetest, most loving card. It was so special to us we framed it,” said Marla. “She immediately felt like part of our family.”

Before Aura’s arrival, “we immersed ourselves in the Colombian culture,” said Marla. “I experimented with making Colombian food; we tried some local Colombian restaurants and we both were studying Spanish.” “When Aura was with us, she enjoyed teaching us Spanish and we enjoyed teaching her English,” added Dan. “She loves to sing and make people laugh. She was open to trying new things. We were surprised at how quickly she felt like part of our family – and amazed at her confidence and courage.”

Dan and Marla were also pleasantly surprised at the sense of community that grew among the host families. “The close bond that we felt for the other families hosting was unexpected. One of the best parts of Kidsave is the instant community you have with the other families,” added Marla.

Then, four weeks later, the hard part came. Saying goodbye. “We were very busy with Kidsave events, so the time went by very quickly. Even though we knew we wanted to adopt Aura, we couldn’t say that to her.” (The program doesn’t allow it, to protect the children’s hopes in case the adoption is not finalized for some reason.) “The time between the kids’ return to Colombia and our first Skype call with Aura seemed like forever.” (Kidsave requires a 2week quiet period after the kids return home, so everyone has time to fully consider the adoption decision. After that, adoption papers can be filed.)

Dan and Marla adopted Aura in 2018. On average 80% of the kids who travel to the US for this program each year are adopted by American families. These are kids who have almost no chance of being adopted in their own country. Since 1999, 5,800 orphans have found families through Kidsave’s Family Visit Model.  

“Hosting Aura was the best experience of our life, “added Dan. Marla and Dan share some thoughts with anyone considering adoption… “Keep an open mind and heart and be ready to fall in love. These kids just want to be loved, be part of a family. We found our daughter through Kidsave. Every child deserves a family and we are so grateful to Kidsave.”

Links:

• About Kidsave
• About the "Summer Miracles" program
• About Hosting a Child

Andrew and Andy felt that they had more love to provide than two small dogs could fully appreciate. They also had enough space in their home and sufficient finances to provide something they took for granted when growing up: loving parents. “We were seeing several [slightly older] friends become grandparents and realized that we would never become grandparents because a crucial step had been missed – having kids of our own,” joked Andrew. Then they met with some friends who were about to adopt two boys who had been “hosted” through Kidsave’s Summer Miracles Program last summer.

 Hosting brings older Colombian orphans, unadoptable in their own country because they are over 8 years old, to the US to stay with families that will advocate for them to find permanent families – or adopt them themselves. Hosting entails caring for children while they are here, bringing them to events at which they can meet potential adoptive families, and doing all they can with the help of Kidsave staff to find permanent families for them.

 These friends showed them photos of Freddy and Pedro, and talked enthusiastically about the boys and about Kidsave. “Adopting an older child or sibling set seemed to be the best way to start the family we have always wanted, said Andrew. “When considering fostering to adopt in the US, the process can be long and parental rights take a long time to terminate.”

 “We also wanted to adopt in such a way that it leaves behind a better world and to provide a loving home to a child or children. Hosting and adopting through Kidsave seemed to encompass both. These kids really need a home and really need to be loved, and the world and their lives will hopefully be better should we adopt them.”

 “I've been advocating for young people for the past 34 years,” added Andy,” particularly in the later years of my military career. They are our future and the more we invest in them, the more likely the world will evolve to be a better place for all of us. Seems to me that every kid should have parents and an opportunity to grow and learn. Quoting Stephen Covey, ‘To live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy.’ We’ve done the first three. Our legacy will be children who do the same.”

 Soon, two boys will arrive from Colombia to stay with Andrew and Andy for five weeks and experience a special summer vacation and life in an American family. “We will introduce them to our two little dogs, take them out to the local playground, kick around a soccer ball (Fútbol), cook for them, read to them at bedtime, and just enjoy time spent with them in an everyday home environment. We currently plan to share with the boys what the local area has to offer (museums, the zoo, playgrounds/parks and much more) and spend a lot of time at home playing board games, doing craft projects, making puzzles, playing in our nice backyard, having them play with the dogs and just normal everyday stuff. We also hope to connect them with other kids in the neighborhood.”

“We are trying to be realistic in preparing for the chaos that typically comes with having kids (something I am actually looking forward to). The noise level will go up, the mess will be more, etc… All good things, but might require some adjustment.” The boys will get to go to a pro baseball game, spend a week at a soccer camp, swim in the neighbor’s pool any time, and will have a devoted, caring couple interested in adopting them watching over it all. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect summer…. or a more perfect second chance for these boys who just want loving parents encouraging and supporting them.

Links:

• Learn about Kidsave's work and programs
• Learn more about hosting and "Summer Miracles"
• Learn more about "hosting" a child