Search Results for: blog pioneers in international adoption

Landmark Dates in Adoption History

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Two notable dates in adoption history were the 1955 adoption of eight Korean War orphans by Harry and Bertha Holt, who later facilitated the adoptions of many Korean children. Although later accused of automatically assuming life in America was better for the children and of not doing proper background checks or follow-up on their adoptive families, still the Holts were absolutely instrumental in publicizing the needs of children around the world, especially in Korea. Another landmark date in international adoption was April 1975. At the order of U.S. President Gerald Ford, military planes and jumbo jets loaded with hundreds of … Continue reading →

Lest We Forget: U.S. Troops and Families were Pioneers of International Adoption

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As we remember our servicemen and women, past and present, on this Memorial Day, it is worth noting how much the landscape of adoption in America was changed by servicemen and women. U.S. soldiers fighting in Europe, participating in the post-war occupations of Germany and Japan, and later serving in Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries helped to familiarize their families back home with the needs of the many orphans they encountered. Although some of the armed services discouraged their personnel from adopting during their service, there are several stories about units informally taking on the cause of one or … Continue reading →

November in the Adoption Blog: Month in Review

I began the blog on All Saints Day with a tribute to certain “Saints” in U.S. Adoption and Pioneers in International Adoption. Then I wrote a tribute to the founder of my daughter’s Korean adoption agency, who has lived an exciting and multifaceted life and is remarkable for his humble concern for children. In honor of National Adoption Month, I wrote two blogs on Top Ten Myths about Adoption. For Part One, click here. For Part Two, click here. Then I wrote a blog about events on National Adoption Day, Saturday November 17. These events included finalizations of thousands of … Continue reading →

Pioneers in International Adoption

My last blog honored a few “saints” in U.S. adoption. This blog will focus on a few heroes in international adoption. Pearl Buck, an American who lived in China with her missionary parents and then her agricultural scientist husband, is known for her book The Good Earth. She had one child, then adopted seven. She also was shocked to discover in 1949 that existing agencies considered Asian and multiracial children unadoptable. She founded Welcome House adoption agency to serve these children. The first international and interracial adoption agency, Welcome House still exists today, now working with children from several countries, … Continue reading →

On the Child Sent Back to Russia

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It’s been nearly a month since two nations were stunned by the actions of an adoptive mother and grandmother, who put a seven-year-old adopted from Russia on a plane to Moscow as an unaccompanied minor. He bore a note addressed to the Russian Ministry of Education from his adoptive mother. Apparently his grandmother, who lived next door to his adoptive mother in Tennessee, had spoken with a driver in Russia and hired him to meet the party at the airport and drive to the Russian Ministry of Education. The driver was under the impression, from phone calls the week before, … Continue reading →

May in Review, Part Three

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I shared the news that thousands of Chinese are offering to adopt children orphaned by the quake in Earthquake May Prove to Be a Milestone for Adoption in China. However, some orphans of a previous quake reported feeling as though they were tolerated as foster children rather than fully part of their adoptive families or relatives’ families, and some social service personnel feel that the children could support each other better in a boarding school where they would live with other earthquake survivors. This controversy is discussed in Is Adoption the Best Solution for Earthquake Survivors? –The Disagreement. In What … Continue reading →