What CAN I do ?? Part 1

You may ask - WHY 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.

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.

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There, visually impaired children spend their life withdrawn, unable to access vital aids to communication and independence.

 

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.

$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 !!!!!

Bryannah

Ryan

 

Grayson

 

Dawn

Paige

Dominick

 

Chantelle-Ann

 

Corey

 

Guiliana

 

Yancey 

Fabio

 

Jayce

Rebecca

 

Lisa  

 

Charlene

Lana

 

Rogers

 

Trudy 

Ambrose

 

Jennie

 

Zayne

Gabriel

 

Nikolajs

 

Brady

 

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.

See Sealey Now.

While I'm not the best writer in the world, and most definitely not the best blogger, I will keep on putting words to paper in an effort to help these children.

  Children who through no fault of their own have been thrown onto the garbage pile, left to exist rather than live. 

Children who live in misery. 

While we go about our daily lives, these kids waste away behind locked doors.

  While most of us take for granted the 3 meals a day, the warm home, the loving hugs -  these children spend their days laying down in a crib, locked away where no-one can see them.  

Once these kids are moved from the baby orphanage, they are thrown into the chaos of an adult institution, where it truly is a survival of the fittest situation. 

Non mobile children - and even those who CAN get around, but cause too much trouble - are confined to their crib.  

 Children who cannot feed themselves are fed by short staffed caregivers, who bottle feed these kids a concoction that is poured down their throat via a slit in an oversized nipple.  

Children who have problems swallowing get very little nutrition, as most of what they are fed is brought back up - they slowly starve to death.  

Children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy spend their days in their cribs with no stimulation. They do not receive much needed physical therapy, so their muscles atrophy, and their limbs stiffen. 

 They do not get an education. They do not have toys. 

They literally spend their days doing nothing - between feedings, they lay in their cribs.  

If they are sick, they suffer.  

If they are in pain, or hungry, or lonely, or bored, they have learned that crying is a waste of energy. They lay silent.  

Their teeth rot. 

They lay on their own waste, with their diapers being changed once or twice a day.  Often times, disposable diapers are reused, as the places these children exist in do not get enough funding for much needed supplies.  Even the most loving of caregivers can only provide the bare necessities, when they have far too many children to care for.  

Have I seen this with my own eyes ? No. I have, however, read many many first hand accounts of people who have adopted from these places.

I have seen the children  brought home, and the transformation that happens once they have love, food, therapy and education.

I have seen, in the past few days, pictures of children who have been transferred to an adult institution.  Children who, when still at the baby orphanage, were doing OK.  They were better taken care of, receiving adequate nutrition, and even the opportunity to play and interact with others.

Please - take a look at these photos - see the change in their eyes, see how the life has been sucked out of them.  

The first picture is from the baby orphanage. 

The second after transfer to the adult institution.

SEE THEM.

Samson

 Kanani

Aura Lee

 Harlowe

Brandon

This last one - this hurts the most.

Sealey.

I am Sealey's "Guardian Angel".

I am supposed to be shouting for him - last year I helped raise money for his adoption grant in the Reece's Rainbow Christmas campaign.

I am failing him.

We hadn't had an update about him in forever, and I will admit, I feared the worst.

I thought he would show up on the "In Loving Memory" page, which lists those children that have died before being adopted.

However - he is still alive.

I SHOULD be rejoicing that he has been found, and his profile updated after all these years.

This was Sealey, before transfer.

This is Sealey now.

He is 12 years old.

Sealey needs OUT.

He needs a family to see him and rescue him - they will truly be saving his life.

Please help me share Sealey and the other children listed here.

They are just a handful of many many children who need rescuing from deplorable conditions.

You can go to Reece's Rainbow, to see hundreds and hundreds of children of all ages who are looking for an adoptive family.

You can click on any of the names above, and you will be taken to that child's profile.

You can go HERE to donate directly to a grant pool that will help fund the adoption of older children, including Sealey.

Please do something - anything - to get the word out about these children - to get them seen by possible adoptive families.

Please - for Sealey - for all of these children - please share, donate, pray.

 

Before it's too late - do SOMETHING !!

 

Newt's Goals for YOUR child !!

Here we go !!   The Reece's Rainbow Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign (MACC) has officially begun, and I am now on a quest to raise $1000 for my chosen Christmas Child, Walter, between now and New Year's Eve !!

 Next weekend (Nov 12th -13th), my son "Newt" and his U14 soccer team will be traveling to their last outdoor soccer tournament of the season, in Kansas City.

For a few years now, I have combined my love of soccer, my son and children with special needs, to raise funds for waiting children and families in the process of adopting.  

It's a simple concept - I ask people to sponsor my son's teams goals - for any dollar amount - and after the tournament, they multiply their pledge by the number of goals, and donate that amount to the child or family.

For this tournament, I am changing things a little.

I am asking for a donation of just $5 to Walter's adoption grant.

What do YOU get out of this, you may ask ?

Well - here's the fun part.

Everyone who donates $5 to Walter's grant will get their name put into a drawing.

Just before the tournament, I will draw ONE name.

That person can then nominate ANY child who is part of the Christmas Campaign OR any family who is in the process of adopting through Reece's Rainbow.

I will then donate $10 to that child or family for every goal that Newt's team scores next weekend.  

So - you donate $5 to Walter, then I donate $10 per goal to the Christmas child/family of your choice (and yes, it can be your own FSP if you are in the process of adopting).

Newt's team will play three games, with the possibility of a 4th if they get to the Championship game - so lots of goal scoring opportunities !!

You can donate to Walter by clicking on his name anywhere in this post - then please let me know you donated by commenting below, on any Facebook post where this blog is linked, or you can also e-mail me at pieapple@aol.com  (this is correct, their is NO "n").

THANK YOU !!

Another thing I'm doing to raise money for Walter is making personalized Christmas gift tags - you can read all about them and how to order them right HERE !!