A story of how a birth country visit can turn into something life altering for international adoptees and for the children left behind is always inspiring, and this one is no exception.

Ana Dodson was adopted from Peru as an infant and returned for the first time at the age of eleven in the company of her mother, Judi. In addition to everything she took away from the visit in the way of personal experience and fulfillment was a compelling conviction she turned... more

I've been writing about India, its children, India international adoptions, Indian adoption laws, problems and more for a long time now. Over the past year-and-a-half-plus, I've posted on the nuts and bolts of the system, child labor, female infanticide... more

A state-level orientation program on adoption was held recently in Lucknow, India, with the aim of increasing awareness locally on the issues of adoption in that country.

Domestic Indian adoptions continue to lack popularity, with most people determined to avoid adopting a child.

Also on the agenda, uniformity in adoption rules to remove much of what can be cumbersome when the many religions in the country approach the process.

Also... more

Issues to do with children and adoption around the world range from the widely different to basically the same, as although cultural differences abound, we are at the base of it all humans.

For example, this story out of the UK illustrates how children of ethnic minorities there wait longer for placement in adoptive families ... up to three times longer ... and there are worries that placing children of color with white families can leave them "without a sense of cultural... more

Continued from here. I'm not saying Jo Rowling is intentionally bankrolling clapping with one hand and sacrificing children on the alter of 'Gee, the numbers look good', but the CHLG does make me very nervous, and she is a founder ... along with Emma Nicholson, and given her history she really breaks me out in hives of anxiety and has me worrying about the kids who just might end... more

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have to be hyper-aware that July is Harry Potter month. (I live on a rock and have heard all about it, so I'm assuming the information is very widely spread.) The latest film opened last week, the last book comes out at the end of this one, and the ensuing frenzy cannot be missed.

Here's a a bit of a connection that adds to my Potter-ific thinking ... yes, I am a fan: I share a birthday with Harry, and his creator, J.K. Rowling -- the 31st of July. Since... more

An early, warm wet season is being blamed for one of the worst outbreaks of Dengue Fever to hit Cambodia and the rest of SE Asia in recent history.

A British adoptive father, along with other volunteers, set up a UK Registered Charity, The Cambodia Children's... more

A story in today's news, although heartwarming and hopeful, has me feeling more than a bit sad.

The focus is on adults adopted from Viet Nam as children who are now returning to their birth country for their own children, noting that agencies dealing with adoptions from the country are reporting a growing number of parents are "making the same trip their adoptive parents took more than three decades ago."

There... more

Whoever you are ... I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

Blanche DuBois -- "A Streetcar Named Desire"

I've been thinking ... and writing ... about Iraqi orphans lately -- what can happen when international adoption is not an option for kids, how cruel some people can be to innocents, how war often brings out the worst in humans -- and pondering over what, if anything,... more

With International Adoption as much about the wider world as it is about our little families ... or not so little, in some cases ... the idea of our travel as a benefit to others fits well.

With all the talk now of our carbon footprint and how air travel increases the negative impact an individual leaves, the thought of taking off for distant points now seems to require a bit more contemplation.

Traveling to bring our kids home is non-negotialbe for... more