Life's strifes sometime presents itself in freeze frame like fashion. One cannot possibly experience all of the pain that exists in the world but, occasionally, one is presented with a real life picture that gives an insight into these troubles that exist but which may not be your own. This happened to me.
Years go I went to a pantomime. A number of rows were filled with foster carers from Lewisham (in London)and the children they were looking after. There was a little black girl among them who was celebrating her first birthday. This was announced during the interval and her white carer held her up and the audience sang to her. The little girl, a baby still, had a pretty dress on and was smiling. I wondered what her future would be like and how, innocently, she had no idea of the system she had entered. I still think of her.
Today, Martin Narey who is the government's advisor on adoption speaks of the massive bureaucracy that is preventing children from being adopted. Mr Narey specifically mentions the barriers faced by people who are willing to adopt children of a different race from themselves but who are denied this. A child's interests must be paramount and what does it matter if the adoptive parents are a different colour? Some will argue that skin colour runs deep and throws up a cultural divide. To this I say that a child's interests must come first, even before cultural sensitivites.
The bible has some wonderful instances of adoption. Moses was adopted by the daughter of a Pharaoh. In Ephesians 1:5 there is a reference to people being adopted as God's sons through Jesus. Esther was adopted after her parents died and went on to become a queen who was used by God.
Please pray that Michael Narey's report will break down barriers to adoption and result in a system where initially unwanted or orphaned children go on to become wanted.
This is a subject close to my heart, as an ex social worker specializing in child protection, then fostering and adoption. Most children in foster care are there temporarily and return to their parents or other relatives. Most children needing permanent or adoptive families who wait a long time are older than those most adopters want to adopt and are often very damaged by past experiences. Often these are sibling groups. It takes exceptional people to take them on. Thankfully such people do exist but there is a shortage. The law requires that the child's interests are paramount. Careful matching is important, including many considerations. The rate of adoption breakdowns is high. This is damaging to children and adoptive parents. To avoid that it is important to attempt to make the most suitable placements in the first place, which may mean waiting.
ReplyDeleteDear Nancy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your first hand experience. Adoption, I think, is one of those issues which will always be emotionally charged and i applaud people like yourself who work in this difficult area.
God bless
Jane