Day 17 - Why Adopt From Ukraine?
Why adopt from Ukraine? I mean, why do a foreign adoption when you can adopt children from the USA?
First of all, whether you adopt from the USA or internationally, both are worthy things to do. Both kinds of adoption have their challenges. The costs for adoption vary greatly depending on the country, age, and condition of the child. The adoption of some children can be more costly & more difficult in America than in some foreign adoptions. And some foreign adoptions are more expensive & more challenging than American adoptions. When we adopted Seth, it ended up costing us virtually nothing, but that was in part due to him having Down Syndrome and our income. And while his adoption had some unique challenges, it was easier than the adoption of Vika.
Secondly, I’m not writing this to suggest that one kind of adoption is more worthy than another. I’m just giving some of our reasoning why we chose to adopt from Ukraine this time instead of adopting from the USA again.
Certainly, a significant part of the draw to Ukraine was because my parents were here and took us through some orphanages. They also ministered a little bit in a certain orphanage and made a connection with Vika.
So they kind of made a deal with us. They would take Vika out of the orphanage to live with them, and then we would work on adopting her. Lisa and I agreed, not knowing of course what God would have in store for us and that it would be such an interesting adventure! :)
Beyond that, American orphans generally are in foster care and have opportunities and care that orphans from foreign countries usually don’t have. Also, in some foreign countries, orphans are in greater danger due to conditions and situations that orphans are subject to. So there can be a greater urgency to adopt internationally. The sheer number of orphans in foreign countries far exceeds that of the USA. I’ve read that the USA has approximately 125,000 in the foster care system where as there is an estimated 40 million orphans internationally. Sometimes the living conditions of orphanages in Ukraine are less than ideal. But even more concerning is the high percentage of children that end up living on the street after they have to leave the orphanage. In light of these factors, we were inclined to adopt from Ukraine.
First of all, whether you adopt from the USA or internationally, both are worthy things to do. Both kinds of adoption have their challenges. The costs for adoption vary greatly depending on the country, age, and condition of the child. The adoption of some children can be more costly & more difficult in America than in some foreign adoptions. And some foreign adoptions are more expensive & more challenging than American adoptions. When we adopted Seth, it ended up costing us virtually nothing, but that was in part due to him having Down Syndrome and our income. And while his adoption had some unique challenges, it was easier than the adoption of Vika.
Secondly, I’m not writing this to suggest that one kind of adoption is more worthy than another. I’m just giving some of our reasoning why we chose to adopt from Ukraine this time instead of adopting from the USA again.
Certainly, a significant part of the draw to Ukraine was because my parents were here and took us through some orphanages. They also ministered a little bit in a certain orphanage and made a connection with Vika.
So they kind of made a deal with us. They would take Vika out of the orphanage to live with them, and then we would work on adopting her. Lisa and I agreed, not knowing of course what God would have in store for us and that it would be such an interesting adventure! :)Beyond that, American orphans generally are in foster care and have opportunities and care that orphans from foreign countries usually don’t have. Also, in some foreign countries, orphans are in greater danger due to conditions and situations that orphans are subject to. So there can be a greater urgency to adopt internationally. The sheer number of orphans in foreign countries far exceeds that of the USA. I’ve read that the USA has approximately 125,000 in the foster care system where as there is an estimated 40 million orphans internationally. Sometimes the living conditions of orphanages in Ukraine are less than ideal. But even more concerning is the high percentage of children that end up living on the street after they have to leave the orphanage. In light of these factors, we were inclined to adopt from Ukraine.
