Families urgently needed to adopt Russian orphans

Posted: 4/27/07

Dima	Kristina	Sergey

Families urgently needed
to adopt Russian orphans

By Analiz González

Buckner International

ALLAS—Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services urgently needs to find families for Russian orphans who soon will age out of orphanage care.

Once the children turn 16, they can’t be adopted internationally. In essence, that means they won’t get adopted at all, said Debbie Wynne, director of Buckner Adoption and Maternity Services.

Kostya and Ella

For more information on adopting children internationally through Buckner, contact Phil Brinkmeyer or Irina Shytova at (214) 381-1552 or call toll-free(866) 236-7823

“When the children turn 18, they’re forced out into the street,” she said. “Domestic adoptions in Russia are rare. And when they are adopted in Russia, they are younger children. So the only chance these children have of a forever family is to be adopted internationally.”

Statistics show 10 percent of the kids put out by the orphanages are victims of either homicide or suicide within three years. Thirty percent live lives of crime and 30 percent live on the street. That’s why Buckner is pushing for the adoption of several sibling groups who are approaching that age, Wynne said.

Some of the children already have been placed in orphanages for older children, which separated them from their younger siblings.

Kostya and his sister, Ella participated in the summer 2005 Buckner Angels from Abroad program and are desperately in need of a family together.

Kostya had to be separated from Ella in the fall of 2006 because he’s older than 12. His sister misses him and prays for them to be reunited in a family.

The Angels from Abroad host parents described Ella as “easy-going and loving.” She’s quick to hug people she knows and is very respectful of adults. And Kostya is “friendly and communicative and likes to play games.”

According to adoption staff, the siblings have been waiting for families for several years.

“Everyone that knows them feels they’d be great in an adoptive family,” Wynne said.

Another pair of siblings separated because of their ages is Dima and Kristina. Their 2005 Angels from Abroad host family described Kristina as a “very happy child, communicative, caring and loving.” Dima was called “quiet, patient and stable.”

Kristina suffers from a joint problem that affects one of her knees, but it doesn’t keep her from swimming and playing outdoors, her host family said. Doctors at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital said she will need some ongoing medical care and they’ll do a free, more thorough evaluation once she’s adopted.

And a donor has offered to pay for all the adoption fees for Kristina and her brother, Dima, Wynne added.

“There would still be some other costs, but it would be significantly less expensive than a typical international adoption,” she said.

Sergey, another child waiting to be adopted, participated in the summer 2006 Angels from Abroad program.

His host family described him as “intelligent, a problem-solver and an observer.” He’s also “self-sufficient, but also accepting of help from others.” They also said he’s inquisitive and delights in learning new things.