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Chances for Children reunion 2009
Letter from Craig Juntunen, Founder, Chances for Children
I want to say thanks to all who attended the first of many Chances for Children reunions. The weekend was very meaningful and seeing each child's development and transformation put the work of the foundation into a remarkable context. It was also a pleasure to become better acquainted with each of our families and my admiration for them was fortified during our time together.
The children have grown and changed, and C4C is also going through some significant changes. Our experience and learning over the last three years has put us into a position where we have an opportunity to change the world of international adoption, which today is in severe crisis and if something isn't done to change the tide, international adoption may be in jeopardy of coming to a grinding halt.
While it was inspiring to be part of the creation of the families who attended the reunion, it was bittersweet when I realized that the potential for families like these are now at risk. If I asked the families that attended three simple questions, their answers would underscore the current crisis in international adoption.
- Do you have biological children ?
- Have you and your spouse been married less then 10 years?
- Are you younger then 35 years of age, or older then 50?
Most of the families attending answered yes to these three questions, which means under the recently modified Haitian adoption guidelines, they would not be allowed to be living, and experiencing the poignant success stories that we observed over the weekend.
The responses to these three simple questions change everything and highlight the current restrictive, discriminatory, and bureaucratic rules, which are putting a stranglehold on future adoptions. As lucky as we are to have our kids - today there are many families that are not being allowed to pursue the magical experiences we have all shared. The biggest loser in this proposition is the children who desperately need a family. Hence the crisis......
Chances for Children is going to take this crisis head on.
- We are going to execute a public relations campaign to reverse the declining trend line in international adoption. The goal is to promote and drive social transformation, making international adoption a usual event for any family in any neighborhood.
- To make an adoption a more routine event we plan to interact with governments world wide to transform the current adoption process. The goal is to reduce costs, make requirements reasonable, and improve bureaucracy to make international adoption more available to a broader range of families.
As adoptive families we all have to assume a leadership position to change the world of international adoption. It does not take much to start a revolution to get more children into families, it starts with one voice and then another and then another and next thing you know a movement has been created. In this case, a movement to have common sense prevail, so that good, decent families can readily adopt a child that needs a home and someone to call Mom and Dad.
Something was started at the reunion. We started to form a nucleus of a common thought and spirit; this will fuel our efforts to create stronger pathways for the orphaned and abandoned children of the world.