Adoption

In the last few weeks 3 of the children here have gone to forever families. They have been adopted or fostered by both local and overseas families and have gone to live with them forever. 

It is possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

The love these parents have for these children, even though they have never met them before is crazy. And the way the children respond to the love the parents give them is amazing. 

Before I started my teaching degree I was studying to be a midwife, and during that time I saw many many births. Labour is hard, but the moment the baby is out and in the arms of the mother is a once in a life moment. There is so much joy and love. Its one of the happiest moments I can think of. 

The day when the adoption parents meet there child to be, I believe, is just as great as the moments after birth. Except with adoption, the moment is even greater, because the child is in such need of a family.

Being here in Africa I have come to realise just how many children need adoption. TLC is absolutely fantastic for the kids, don't get me wrong, but they need more. They need a family. Someone to call a mum, and/or someone to call a dad. 

Here at TLC there are 45+ kids waiting to be adopted. If you walk 10 minutes down the road there is another children's home with 60+ children waiting to be adopted. There are so many children's homes and orphanages in the area, and this is just a very small part of Africa. Some of the children here will never be adopted. They will spend there childhood waiting.

Why then is it that we hardly even consider adoption in Australia. Why is it always thought of as “a last resort”, if you cant have kids naturally. Being here at TLC I have come to realise that the availability and attitude toward adoption really needs to change.

Adoption in Australia is ridiculously hard to do and ridiculously expensive. But there are ways. 

During my time here, I have met 2 amazing single Godly women who have moved to South Africa just to adopt little ones with medical conditions which has cause them to be considered “un-adoptable”. When you come to South Africa with a working visa you can adopt much easier and cheaper (nearly 1 tenth of what it cost to do an international adoption.) Its a big sacrifice, but I really cannot think of anything more selfless. These kids now have a family, a home and a mother fighting hard for them. 

I have no idea where my life will take me, if I will spend the rest of my life in Australia, if I will have kids. But being here in South Africa has challenged me to think of adoption as something which isn't just a last resort. And I hope you might be challenged as well.