Help the Children of Vietnam!!!!

For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the good that I can do.

-George Linnaeus Banks

We have commented about many of the positive experiences we have had here in Vietnam…and there have been many…but we have also seen a lot of needy people, especially children…Throughout the world (including the United States) the most vulnerable victims of poverty are the children…and often the most neglected…

When we met little Anthony at the orphanage we saw a number of children who were getting the help they needed through the support of our Agency, Holt International…They are a very legitimate agency that places children first and their approach is addressing the needs of orphaned children from a well rounded approach…which includes efforts to reunite children with their birth families first…The people we have encountered here from Holt are absolutely providing outstanding services, care deeply about their work, and are absolutely above board and professional!!!!

Unfortunately, there are agencies operating in Vietnam (and elsewhere) that do not have the same ethical standards as Holt International (and other reputable agencies). This has caused friction (and delays) in the processing of Visa’s by the US Consulate in Vietnam…They are scrutinizing these applications further in order to make sure that children have been abandoned and put up for adoption legitimately. We fell into this new process, which delayed our travel to meet our new son…

As a result, as some of you know…the agreement between the United States and Vietnam for adoption is set to expire on September 1, 2008…and current negotiations have yet to produce a new agreement…This is very concerning for many of us in the adoption community…There are many families behind us in the process whose adoptions may be jeopardized and will not be matched or be able to adopt children from Vietnam for some time…The last time this happened adoptions in Vietnam were suspended for nearly two years!!!! This not only affects these and other potential adoptive families…but more importantly it leaves the many children here in this country without the families and support that they so desperately need!!!!!!!!!!!

Also selfishly, we want to adopt again… and we would love to come back to Vietnam for little Anthony’s sister or brother….

So what can we (and you) do about it!!!! Please read more about the issues and follow the instructions outlined in the campaign below….The children of Vietnam need your help!!! Help us, and the adoption community encourage the state department to negotiate a new agreement before the current one expires!!! Let’s all work together to allow legitimate agencies like HOLT bring children home to their forever families!!!

After the campaign directions we have posted some new pictures!!! We will make our last post from Vietnam Tomorrow!!!!

This comes from Joint Council on Adoption. Read all about it at that link.

Here is the campaign....and info about the issue.....

Child's Right Campaign
The Joint Council is pleased to announce A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam. Please join us on June 2nd by contacting Members of Congress and urging them to join the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs and sign their letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice in support of the recommendations found in A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam.

A Pending Crisis

The U.S. Department of State has expressed concerns related to corrupted practices associated with intercountry adoption between the U.S. and Vietnam. In response to their concerns, the Department of State will allow the functional closure of adoptions on September 1, 2008 and thereby end one of the most basic of human rights: the right to a safe, permanent and loving family.Not only will those orphans eligible for adoption continue to suffer the detriments of orphanage life, so will thousands of other orphans and vulnerable children. This is because the service providers engaged in finding U.S. families for Vietnamese orphans also provide a myriad of services to the most vulnerable of children.
As a result, the end of intercountry adoption with Vietnam also brings the end of social services such as family preservation and counseling. It also marks the end of humanitarian services such as educational sponsorships, clean water programs and many health related initiatives.

End Corruption, Not a Child’s Right to a Family

While Joint Council shares in many of the Department of State’s concerns, we believe the solution is not the termination of adoption and elimination of a child’s right to a family. Joint Council, its Member Organizations, NGO’s including Ethica—a leading voice for ethical adoption, the Vietnamese government and Members of the United States Congress firmly believe that the solution is a rational child-centered approach designed to strengthen services, regulate providers and prosecute violators.

A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam
In response to the looming crisis facing the children of Vietnam, Joint Council today--May 21, 2008—initiates A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam.A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam proposes a series of rational recommendations that address the issues of abuse, protect the integrity of Vietnamese families and ensure the right of every child to a permanent, safe and loving family. The overriding goal of this campaign is very simple: to end corruption, but not a child’s right to a family.

As part of this campaign Joint Council delivered a letter to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) Co-Chairs: Senator Mary Landrieu; Senator Norm Coleman; Congressman James Oberstar and Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite requesting their immediate assistance. We have asked the CCA and all Members of Congress to support the recommendations found within A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam and to work with the Governments of the United States and Vietnam to ensure that an MOA is in place on September 1, 2008.The Department of State has expressed intent to negotiate and implement a new MOA with the Government of Vietnam. Joint Council applauds the long-term goals of the Department of State, yet finds the short-term path unacceptable. It is clear that the intent is also to allow the current MOA to expire while seeking a new agreement sometime in the future. By all estimates, the Department of State’s current path would result in the functional elimination of services, including adoption, for two years or more!

Finding such a scenario intolerable, we ask for your immediate support of this Campaign. The following page details how you can help us avoid this pending crisis. Only with your active participation will the children of Vietnam have a right to join a permanent, safe and loving family through ethical, professional and legal adoption.

On behalf of the orphaned and vulnerable children of Vietnam, those of us who work to serve their needs and the Joint Council on International Children’s Services, we extend our sincere appreciation for your coming efforts.

How You Can Help
1.Today, please read A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam at http://www.jcis.org.

2. Send an email in support of A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam to advocate@jcics.org. Your email will be included in a petition to Congress.

3. On June 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, please contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators and ask them to support A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) Co-chairs will draft a letter to Secretary Condoleeza Rice based on these recommendations. Please ask your Members of Congress to sign this letter.

Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. You can find your Senators’ phone numbers and email address at http://www.senate.gov/ You can find your Representatives’ phone numbers and email address at http://www.house.gov/

b. Include the following in your calls and emails.· “I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to join the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs and sign their letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice in support of the recommendations found in Joint Council’s A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam.”If they have not heard about the Campaign, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute at 202-544-8500 or Joint Council on International Children’s Services at 703-535-8045.Send an email to everyone you called.· The e-mail is important, but the phone call should be placed first.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!!

Mommy and Baby at the pool....


Like my bathing suit??


Cruzin at the pool!!!


Daddy and Little Anthony in the pool...


Playing with the Hotel Front Desk Staff


Me and the doorman are homies...


Baby Sandwich??


Like my outfit??