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Community Resources
**NOTE: These groups are family led and moderated.**
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Support Our Cause
(proceeds support Opportunity House)
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YOUR STORY
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If you are an AAI adoptive parent, child, or relative, we would love to hear your story and share it with our newsletter list. Please email us if you are interested!
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VOLUNTEER FOR AAI
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Interested in volun-teer opportunities at AAI? Contact us to learn more!
We would love to grow our team! Having a family that spans the nation is a huge asset and we'd love to find a way to have you support our efforts.
We are seeking:
*board members
*committee members
*blog contributors
*volunteer program help
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Dear Friends,
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Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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It's an exciting time for AAI as we consider a new international adoption program! Salem Richards, Uganda coordinator, recently traveled to Zambia to assess the possibility of establishing a new program there. Read on to learn more about her travels!
This month we also have two family stories. One was written by a young woman adopted through our agency and the other by adoptive parents of three. If you would like to share your story with us, please let us know! We are always happy to hear from our families.
Sincerely,
The AAI Staff
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SEVERAL NEW WAITING CHILDREN!
AAI coordinator Salem Richards returned from her trip to Uganda with several new child referrals. Visit our Waiting Child page to learn more about these wonderful kids! |
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FEATURED WAITING CHILD: BURKINA FASO
 This happy little guy was born June 25, 2008. He was abandoned at about 2 years of age. When he arrived at the orphanage, he was very sick and malnourished. He could not walk and could barely sit up because he was so weak. He has now been living in an orphanage for 3 years. Although he was slow to speak and to walk, he is now speaking a little, is walking, and is catching up with peers. He has been diagnosed with sickle cell anemia (Hemoglobin S-C), a common malady in his country.
A family had been found for him, but they unfortunately had to withdraw from the adoption process due to personal reasons. If you would like to learn more about this little boy or if you have any questions about our Burkina Faso program, please contact Gay Knutson.
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A TALE OF THREE ADOPTIONS
The following was written by Kelly and James, an AAI family. Read on to learn more about their experience adopting their three young daughters.
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Juliet, Elizabeth, and Maya.
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People ask me occasionally if I would love my children more if they had been born to me. While the question breaks my heart, I can kind of understand. They don't feel the deep love I have for them. They can't see my brain consumed with thoughts for them. They don't see me whenever there is an emergency (the tornado alarm on vacation was thankfully just a test) to know that my first action is always to run for my kids. So no, I couldn't possibly love them more if they were born to me. They are by far the biggest blessing my husband and I have ever received.
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JULY HOMECOMINGS!
Several children arrived home with their forever families this past month! They are:
- Boy age 2 from Ethiopia
- Boy age 1 from Ethiopia
- Boy age 2 from Ethiopia
- Girl age 9 from Ethiopia
- Girl age 2 from Ghana
- Boy age 1 from Uganda
- Boy age 3 from Burkina Faso
- Girl age 3 from China
- Boy age 7 from China
Welcome home and congratulations AAI families!
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SALEM'S TRAVELS: ZAMBIA AND UGANDA
AAI Uganda Coordinator Salem Richards traveled to Zambia and Uganda in July. She writes about her trip:
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Children in Zambia participating in a Special Olympics program.
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The goal while in Zambia was to investigate the possibility of an adoption program for "hard to place" children - those with physical or medical needs, older children (5+ years) and sibling groups. We had been invited by Special Hope Network, an NGO working with children with intellectual disabilities, to explore this option. Canadian and Swedish families are adopting young healthy children from Zambia, but we have been told that no one was placing children who were actually waiting in orphanages!
Our investigations in Zambia had positive results and it appears that a small program in Zambia may be in the works.
Families interested in this new program should be a single woman or married couple with one parent over age 25. At least one parent must be able to spend at least six months in Zambia to meet the country's fostering requirements and complete the adoption. Families should be open to a child with special needs and must be open to a child up to at least age 4. We need an adventurous, flexible family with a pioneering spirit to pave the way in Zambia! Maybe it's you?
In Uganda, our goal was to meet with several new orphanages who had contacted us about partnerships, stay connected with current partners and meet/evaluate with our team on the ground.
Continue reading...
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NEW PROGRAM IN CHINA
 AAI recently applied for the One to One orphanage support program in China. This program matches our agency directly to one orphanage that we will provide with financial assistance and volunteer help. Supporting an orphanage through this program allows AAI to receive more non-special focus and special focus children onto our individual list, bypassing the typical "shared list" experience many of the child files go through.
AAI is in need of families with completed dossiers in order to be approved for this program. If you or anyone you know might be considering an adoption in China, now is a wonderful time to apply!
Our China Special Needs program continues to be a predictable, smooth adoption process for families open to children 1-14 years of age, either gender, with special needs. Most families complete the adoption process within 12-18 months. China has very flexible requirements now and is open to larger families, adoption of unrelated children, and the option to "reuse" your dossier. There are over 3,000 children waiting on the China adoption list.
China is a wonderful program; we encourage families to consider this program and help AAI recruit new families! If you have any questions, feel free to contact our China/Thai coordinator Ky Bower.
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LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
This story was submitted by Karen who was adopted through AAI's Bulgaria program. Now an adult, Karen reflects on the day she first met her parents.
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Karen as a teen in Bulgaria.
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Adopting international teenagers is perhaps unthinkable to so many families wanting to start or expand their family. It was not the case with my parents.
Growing up as an orphan in Bulgaria, it had its ups and downs. I had over one hundred brothers and sisters with whom I fought, bickered, laughed, played soccer, went to school, stayed up late, got into trouble, and created life lasting relationships under the same roof that we called "home." I was a shy and sensitive girl. Growing up fast was essential in an environment of so many different personalities. I fell in love with soccer, and soccer was my outlet to not feel the many emotions I could not express. By my early teens, I had seen and experienced what a child should never see and feel. I was hungry for love, an emotion I did not know existed in a human being. Not until I met my parents.
Continue reading...
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WASHINGTON SUPPORT GROUP
Jessica Cain is the biological child of parents who have adopted several children through AAI. Jessica is interested in connecting with adoptive families and their children in Kitsap County to start a support group. She has a passion for teaching and educating parents about adoption and especially wants to connect with the biological children in adoptive families.
If you are interested in getting more information about this new group, please contact Jessica by email or phone at (360) 649-6853.
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FACEBOOK FANS!
We're up to 300 Likes on our Facebook page; be number 350 and win an Every Child's Right t-shirt! Help us grow our fanbase by liking and sharing our page with your network of friends.
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The AAI Facebook page features agency news, family pictures and stories, and interesting articles about adoption and the community.
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