In April, our in-country China coordinator, Mr. Li, participated in the "Journey of Hope" program for Hunan Province, a united effort with the official China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA).

We are honored to be a part of this program and, having visited many children waiting with special needs, we now seek families to adopt these kids and give them the love, attention, and family they need to thrive.

Families adopting children from the Journey of Hope program are eligible for GRACE Fund grants to assist with adoption fees. The adoption process for these children is also accelerated.

Below are descriptions of four of the children waiting for a forever family:

YLB was born in May 2009. He's a handsome child, diagnosed with cerebral palsy. In spite of his diagnosis, he is an active 4-year-old who loves music and enjoys dancing (see his video on our Waiting Children page). YLB responds well to adults and, like many children with cerebral palsy, understands what is asked of him although his communication is challenged by physical limitations. He has a great personality and enjoys being tickled!

ZY, born February 2009, is another beautiful 4-year-old boy who has thalassemia, a genetic disorder that affects the production of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. He's shy, not very talkative and prefers to stay close to adults. He plays with toys and integrates well with small groups of children once he is familiar with them. ZY has some minor developmental delays that can be strengthened with patient repetition and the love and attention of a forever family.

XX, born February 2001, is a lovely teenage girl with hearing impairments. Although she has poor hearing, she can hear loud sounds without hearing aids, and is an intelligent girl able to discern meaning by interpreting other's expressions and motions. In spite of her hearing loss, she enjoys singing and dancing, and is especially talented in dancing. She is helpful to classmates who are in trouble and is well liked by her peers. She is a passionate girl with strong self-care ability. Due to China's laws, this little girl will "age out" of the adoption system at age 14. We would love to find this girl a forever family so that she is not out on the streets with nowhere to go.

YS, born March 2009, is a 4-year-old girl with delayed development. She is described as timid, shy and fairly introverted. She can imitate words and seems to understand simple concepts, such as "no" and "yes." Her speech is delayed but may improve with special-needs education available in the United States.

Please visit the Waiting Child section of our website for videos of these and other children available now for adoption. The list of waiting children in China changes regularly so please continue to visit our website or contact Ky Bower, China Program Coordinator, to discuss available children. A large number of Chinese children are in need of homes.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa. Temperature: 106 degrees. Rainfall for the month: 0. This is the dry season, before the deluge. People, animals, and plants struggle to survive. It is sometimes hard to imagine that in a month or two there may be monsoon rains that will kill hun-dreds when the water that falls cannot seep into the baked earth.

Sometimes a child simply "stands out." I find myself thinking about him or her, almost obsessively, wondering how or if we will be able to find a family. This young man is such a child for me.

For those of you who frequent AAI's Waiting Child page, he will be familiar. He has been available for adoption for a very, very long time. I was able to meet him in person for the first time during my most recent trip to West Africa.

This boy projects a sense of quiet confidence, peace, and gentleness that were not obvious to me in his photos. He is hearing impaired. The cause, extent, and type of hearing loss are unknown. His country is poor with few resources so an exacting medical diagnosis will have to wait until he comes "home." He is a creative, gifted artist and is currently enrolled in a woodworking program meant give him a means to support himself as an adult.

Because of his country's rules, his new family must be small, no more than three children currently in the home. Unfortunately, single parents are not accepted, and a couple must be married at least five years. I've been fantasizing (forgive the sexism!) about a "crafty" mom and a dad with a passion for woodworking who have the resources to get him to a specialty hospital, and who live in a school district with excellent special services. Are you out there?

The mantle of responsibility is heavy when it comes to finding the right family for older children. This boy touches my heart in an unusually compelling way. If you believe you have the love, commitment, and access to resources necessary to help him meet his considerable potential, and would like more detailed information, please contact me to learn more.

AAI began supporting Ekisa Ministries, Uganda, one year ago, providing funds from your generous donations to pay a full time physical therapist. Below is a note from Ekisa co-founder Emily Worrall about their mission.

Ekisa Ministries works in Jinja, Uganda providing a home and haven for orphans with special needs. The city is the second largest commercial center in Uganda, just north of Lake Victoria. Twenty children live in our care full time, over half have physical therapy plans and have benefited immensely by working with Viola, our full-time physical therapist. Viola works tirelessly with our children, and we have seen her hard work succeed in each child.

Viola is a native to Uganda, and her heart aligns perfectly with ours here at Ekisa-we want to see these children celebrated by their community. In addition to working with the children in our care, Viola works with 15 families in the local area who have children with disabilities. Viola loves these families and teaches them how to best care for their children and enrich their lives with physical therapy.

"I became a Physical Therapist because I wanted to help the disabled and to live a joyful life with them. I chose to work with Ekisa because I found these children needed rehabilitation and love. I love to work with children because they are innocent and need to be cared for," Viola says.

The following Family Story was written by Susan Denning, AAI adoptive mother of two. Denning and her daughters recently returned to Ethiopia to volunteer their time at Sele Enat orphanage and to connect with the girls' birth family.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, I'm a single, adoptive parent living in Seattle, Washington. My daughters are Zebiba (13-years-old), adopted at age five, in early 2005, from Wanna House/Layla House and Maria (11-years-old), adopted at age six, in 2008, from Kidane Mihret. Both girls are from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

My interest in Ethiopian adoption was sparked by Melissa Faye Greene's compelling article, published in 2002 in the New York Times Magazine "What Will Become of Africa's AIDS Orphans?" Before reading this article, I had never really thought about adoption. After my own interest was aroused, I have met many families whose path to adoption was inspired by this article.

Both of my adopted children have surviving parents in Ethiopia as well as extended family. Despite the parents' limited English and our limited Amharic, we stay in contact with Zebiba's father by phone and with Maria's mother using email and emoticons, those little faces imbedded in a note expressing emotions, sometimes more effective communication than what words can say.

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Did you know that AAI's licensed (Washington State only) foster/adopt program has successfully helped hundreds of children from the state's foster care system find permanent homes? Domestic foster/adoption is our term for this state-funded program that allows you to foster and nurture a child as you wait for the adoption process to unfurl.

Domestic foster/adopt is very affordable and the typical waiting time can range from six to 24 months. As in any other adoption, families will go through a home study and be foster licensed prior to being considered for a waiting child. It is estimated there are approximately 104,000 children currently in United States foster care who are legally free and currently waiting for an adoptive home

If you live outside of Washington and are interested in providing a home for a waiting foster child, check your state's website for a photo-listing of the many children available for adoption. ChildWelfare.com is a national site that provides a connection to each state's foster/adopt website. Adopt U.S. Kids and the Northwest Adoption Exchange are two more sites we use to identify waiting children.

If you live in Washington state, visit our website for more information or contact Yvette Nichols, AAI's WA Foster/Adopt Program Coordinator, in our office.

Ghanaian Boy needs long-term respite care with the goal of finding permanent placement. This 12-year-old is bright and extroverted. He loves to laugh and be with other people. He is athletic and loves soccer. His struggles have been defiant behavior at home and difficulty with his younger sibling. 

Help a 15-year-old Ethiopian Girl find permanent placement. She struggles with grief and the loss of her biological family and is working through those issues. She's outgoing, makes friends easily, and she gets along well with other children. She has good manners and is good at expressing her feelings. When she has difficulties, she has a tendency to run away. Currently she is in respite with a friend's family until the middle of June when school is dismissed for the summer.

Please contact Marquita for more information on these children.

Adoptions in Thailand continue to progress slowly. At the end of March, AAI received a referral for a beautiful, healthy toddler boy. His adoptive family has been waiting three years-in keeping with the current estimated time predicted by the Child Adoption Center in Bangkok for a referral.

Several agencies have recently decided to close their Thai program due to the unpredictability and lack of communication. However, AAI remains open to new families who are flexible, patient, and understanding of the Thai process.

Program Coordinator Ky Bower will travel to Thailand in the fall of 2013 to visit with the Child Adoption Center and several orphanages to obtain more information on available children.

The following article was written for The Huffington Post and the Clinton Global Initiative University. CGI University gathers top students and youth organizations to create innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. In this piece, author Sixto Cancel analyzes the U.S. foster system and advocates for change to help improve the lives of the children in care.

Young people are told that the sky is the limit, but not everyone has the same opportunities. Some youth have to overcome the trauma of neglect. Some have had physical, sexual and emotional abuse fall down on them from the clouds. There's a major contradiction for children in this society, and as a foster care alumnus, I know it all too well.

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