Thursday, January 26, 2017

What CAN I do ?? Part 1




You may askWHY do I shout for the unwanted ?
I have not adopted, am not planning on adopting, and I don't have a child with a disability.

So what IS my interest ?  Why do I shout for them - for the children that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten ? Why them ?  Why aren't I passionate about a cause closer to home ? The homeless, the Veterans, the local associations for the disabled, the animal shelter ?  Why do I shout for kids that I have not and probably will never meet ?  

It is a perfectly valid question - and here is my answer.

Firstly - I have worked for many many years (30+ years !!), in one capacity or another, with disabled children.  I worked for 10 summers at a summer camp for kids with a wide variety of disabilities.  I have worked in residential schools, in group homes, as a nanny, and as a daycare provider. I currently work as a Personal Education Assistant, with a child with autism in a regular Kindergarten classroom.

In all of my jobs, I have seen what the kids CAN do.  After a while, you come to see the kids as just that - as kids.  Not as disabled kids - just kids.  You stop thinking about what they can't do - and focus on what they CAN do - what they ARE capable of.  

This is the difference between them and us.
The difference between the lives of disabled children in the Western world, and those that are forgotten, living in orphanages and institutions around the world.

Even children with such minor needs as a cleft lip are abandoned, as they are seen as unworthy, a burden, a curse. Lack of available healthcare causes families to give up their children, in the hopes that they can be better taken care of in orphanages. Sadly, orphanages and institutions fail the children, due to lack of funding, lack of resources, and in too many cases, lack of caring.

There, they spend their days doing nothing, or very little.

bella-update-2016RoseAimey_Nov 2015

Here, they are, on the whole, treated the same as "typical" (non-disabled) children.

They go to school... 


have access to health care...

and receive therapies, and adaptive equipment.

There, non-mobile children are bedridden, spending their days and nights in a crib, whatever their age.
30118212004 Neve June 2016
Linda
Camden2anton


Here, "non-mobile" children play - and referee - sports...

volunteer....

 help out in Church...

enjoy nature...

dance at weddings...

and are interviewed by the media !!

There, visually impaired children spend their life withdrawn, unable to access vital aids to communication and independence.

 JoyAnna (1)

tobias new pic


Here, blind and visually impaired children help the family choose a Christmas tree...

go trick-or-treating...
 

go snow tubing...

 and co-pilot small aircraft !!!

The children pictured above are all real children.

The "there" children are all living in orphanages and institutions around the world, they all have some kind of difference or disability, and they are all available for adoption !

The "here" children were born into, or adopted by a family in the USA.
These children are thriving, given every opportunity to succeed.
This is how it should be !

Please go to www.ReecesRainbow.org to see the waiting children, along with hundreds more.  
Even if you are not in a position to adopt, there is so much you CAN do for these children.  
You can share them - get their faces out there in the hopes that a family will step forward to adopt them. 
You can donate to their adoption grants, which will help a future family with the huge expense of adoption.
You can pray for them.
You can help a family already in the middle of the adoption process.
SO many ways to help !
Just head over to Reece's Rainbow to see what you can do.

For more information about "Challenge Air", who offer the gift of flight to children with special needs, please go HERE.











Sunday, January 8, 2017

$15,000 Adoption Grants !!



Have you ever considered adoption ?   If you have, I bet your first thought was of a teeny tiny baby, perfect in every way, just waiting for a family of their own - and why not ?  Most people who adopt, surely, are those who are unable to physically have their own baby, so an adopted baby is the obvious choice. 
Maybe they might even adopt a toddler or preschooler. 
 Others - maybe they have older children, and don't want to adopt out of birth order (that is, they choose to adopt a younger child so that their biological children are the oldest).  Certainly when adopting a child with special needs, surely the younger, the better - early intervention is key - getting physical, occupational and speech therapies as soon as possible will give those youngsters a huge advantage in life.  Plus - when they're small, they are easier to manage -  you can carry them around, they're still cute and adorable, and they will bond with you much quicker.

Where does that leave the older children ?  Where does that leave those children who are no longer so cute, or easy to handle.  Where does that leave the kids who have more "orphanage" behaviors, who haven't had access to therapies or education ?  The children who have never had a family, who have no idea what being part of a family is all about ? 

Are you ready to adopt, but you really don't want to have to deal with diapers, sleepless nights, potty training and all that goes with having a baby around ?

 Older children - over the age of 10 - are the hidden secrets of Reece's Rainbow.  There are so many children with Down Syndrome just waiting for their family to find them !  
These kids are hidden gems - they are, on the whole, over that whole infant/toddler stage.  Sleeping through the night - not a problem !!  Potty training - been there, done that !  Terrible twos - wayyyy in the past !!  
These kids are already up and running, ready to take on the world - and all they need to help them spread those wings is YOU !!

Sadly, these youngsters are running out of time. 
The US only allows the adoption of children aged 16 and under.  
Some countries restrict the age that their children can be adopted by to 14. Yes - you read that right - once they reach 14, they are no longer adoptable.

Listed below are the children with Down Syndrome who are at risk of aging out - within just months, they will be deemed too old to be adopted, and will be banished to institutions for the rest of their short lives. 

Maybe one or more of these children could be YOUR son or daughter !!

Please take a look - you can click on their names and you will be taken to their profile at Reece's Rainbow, where you can read more about them.

Oh - and did I mention that ALL of these children are eligible for a $15,000 adoption grant ?  Yes - you read that right - $15,000 will be yours to help fund that child's adoption - amazing !!!!!


 ryan-2016-1

 Grayson


Paige 568

dominick 

chantelle1 

Corey-001 

Guiliana (2) 


Yancey

Fabio (2) 


Rebecca at pool 

Lisa-2002 


Charlene (2)

Lana Dec 2015 

Rogers update 2014 (1) 


trudy-update

31209220253 Ambrose (1) 

Jennie 

Zane Zayne

photoboy 

boysillouettenophoto 

boysillouettenophoto 


The children listed above are all at risk of aging out - their time is running out - some of them will be ineligible for adoption within WEEKS.  Please - if you have ever thought about adoption of an older child with Down Syndrome - please consider one of them !!

These are just a few of the children listed with Reece's Rainbow - they are many many more who, while they may still have more time, are still in desperate need of a family.  

You can find all of the children with Down Syndrome over aged 10 HERE - they are ALL eligible for a $15,000 adoption grant !!!

You can find older children with special needs other than Down Syndrome HERE - they may be eligible for a $10,000 adoption grant !!

You can see ALL of the children at risk of aging out HERE

Please see these children - and share them far and wide !! 
Somewhere out there is a family for every one of them, but their families can't find them if they don't see them !!

Thank you.