Thursday, July 26, 2007

What's it worth?

Jena at Preparing for Rain shared this link the other day about adoptive parents dealing with the corruption that exists in some adoption situations. Although the country in question was Cambodia, this is definitely an country non-specific issue. As you even hear, albeit infrequently, that it happens in the good old US of A.
One fly in the ointment of this issue is something that our adoption agency has been cautious about concerns giving gifts or money to help our adopted childrens' "left behind" family. Even when it seems to fly in the face of the care and compassion we want to offer our adopted children, their extended family and their country; their concern is valid based on horrific situations that have occured in countless adoption programs-and yes, I would venture to guess, even the most respected ones.
As with most benevolent adoptive parents, such thoughts would never even enter my mind; but the reality is that the situation is desperate enough for some people (some well-meaning and others not-so-much) that if there even exsisted the slightest implication that kids=cash (payable in US dollars) then they'd auction them off to the highest bidder.
Our agency has organized a separate group of adoptive families to brainstorm ways to help the extended families, who fill our hearts and minds as soon as we know of them, but the answers haven't come quickly. The obvious solutions of the promise of jobs, schooling, money or other goods is a questionable carrot dangling in front of some unethical noses. And while many families would not sacrifice their young for any amount, there are some for whom the *bait* would be just too tempting.
How then do adoptive parents fill in these gaps that range from mild cracks in the system to gaping chasms in some country programs? Are there programs out there that meet these needs? If so, are we being vocal in support of them and are we then putting our money where our collective mouths are and investigating the motivation and methods used by the adoption agencies before committing thousands of dollars to their programs. We owe it to our adopted children, their families, and their countries to do so.

2 comments:

S. said...

Great post, I have been pondering this issue a lot lately...no easy answers unfortunately.

Jane (a.k.a. patjrsmom) said...

It really is such a difficult topic, but one that really does require our thought and time. Thanks for reading!

Jane