This is part of a story I tell my three-year-old daughter as we begin our adoption journey.
I guess I should start at the beginning. It all began when my neighbors shared that they were adopting a little girl from Russia. I was very interested in hearing their story. "Why Russia?" They shared with me about how they felt safer with an international adoption - that there was not a birth mother to change her mind, no fears of someone knocking on their door later, and not having to wait years for a child. These things all seemed to make sense. I wondered why there were so many children available there, and I began to look into international adoption.
Adoption has intrigued me for several years. I have three beautiful, healthy biological children (14, 10, and 3), so there were no questions of infertility. No one in my family had ever adopted, so that was never the draw. But when I was expecting my third child I caught a MAURY POVICH show about adoption that really melted my heart. I thought of my own children - how safe, loved and secure that they were - and it broke my heart to think of the children who had no one to tell them, "I love you" each day or just to hug them, children who didn't have what all children deserve - a home. I thought it was probably the hormones, but I guess the idea of adoption was really planted then, just a small seed.
When I met Katie, from Russia, the seed started growing. Here was an orphan with a face for me to look at and realize that all she needed was hope and love. I found out that because she had been institutionalized she was developmentally behind. She was also underweight and small for her size because of the diet available to her. But within a month of her being home, she began to blossom. Her father said it was like this little plant was stuck in a corner out of the sun and had been forgotten, and all it took was love and attention and she began to bloom!
At this point I began to research international adoption on the Internet. I fell in love with all the beautiful faces of the children who were waiting and those who had been adopted. I was dismayed, however, because the costs range from $15,000 to $30,000 to adopt a child from Eastern Europe. But I also found hope . . . some of the web sites gave information about tax credits, fundraisers, grants, and low interest loans, and a thought process started! I thought if I could find a way to raise the kind of money required, that it would be so easy to make room for one more. And I felt that if I could find a way to make more people aware of this, they too might be willing to open their hearts and home to a child in need.
I discovered that the state of Missouri has a $10,000 adoption tax credit. If you can find someone willing and able, you can sell them your tax credit in exchange for the cash (for example, if a relative or friend is willing to give you $10,000in cash, you can, in turn, sell them your tax credit). I am interested in trying to get a foundation together that could possibly match up people who can afford to buy the tax credit with people who are adopting. Also, there is a federal tax credit of $5,000 that will be increased to $10,000 beginning January 2002 (this comes straight off of taxes owed! Many employers also have adoption benefits available (my husband's employer did not, but I have submitted a proposal and am praying they will consider it). So, to make a long story short so to speak, there are many resources available, and if you are determined, you can succeed.
Part 2