I Dont Want To Retire!

Probably the real essence of not retiring is not to stop thinking about beautiful ideas and experiences and sharing them.
I aspire to inspire with God's Good News to mankind, health and wellness, and many more.

10.12.2008

Child adoption is a process

Today I wish to share a lesson I learned from a seminar on child adoption. This blog will not be complete without this and I should have shared this a long time ago, but since my own adoption case was still pending, I didn't think I was credible enough to share it.

You guessed it right, the favorable decision for our special child's adoption by our family was finally released! What is left for us to do now is the registration of her new name to the Civil Registrar. Our special child's new name will be Lyca Louisa Taa Venida.

Child adoption is a process that is ideally accomplished within 9 months, depending on the case. The adoptive parents are evaluated based on home studies conducted by a Social Worker. In our case, we had no intention to adopt a child at first, since we are a complete family with a daughter and a son. The special child was born inside our house so the best support we could give was to be a foster family for the child who cannot be supported by her mother who was our house helper. The child was already 3 years old when my husband and I decided to be registered as foster parents of the child, at "Kaisahang Buhay Foundation". In this organization, we learned that fostering a specific child should last only for a year. After that period, we should decide if we'd like to adopt the child, or foster another child. That was how we decided to adopt Lyca, to give her the identity of a family because we learned to love her dearly.

The subject child of the adoption process is the adopted child, so when the process is completed the child becomes your child. So from now on, I will no longer say that Lyca is my adopted child because the adoption process is over. She is now my child, my special child.

The process of adoption should be explained to the adopted child when he is around 6 to 8 years old, the age when he or she will be old enough to understand. It should be emphasized to the child that adoption is just a process just like a mother having a baby, and when the process is over, he or she becomes your child.

I must admit that when I was younger I never appreciated adopting a child. When God gave us Lyca, I could not differentiate my love for her and my own children. I realized how the love of a mother can be so great. An unconditional love will not discriminate, and it can be offered to any child who is not from your own flesh and blood.

1 comment:

Maria Teresa Tandiama said...

I salute you and your family for having painstakingly going through the long, tedious, and costly process of adoption. All because of love for your child.