Continuing from the previous post where I was talking about care for disabled kids in Iraq.

Before anyone starts accusing me of any sort of bias here, let me expand my angst to include other areas that repulse me.

I'll start with the millions of young girls subjected to genital mutilation ... a practice that is still most often looked... more

The story out of Iraq a while back about the orphanage inhabitants found bound and starving keeps repeating on me, resonating on so many levels that I'm not yet able to leave it rest.

When first reported, I wrote about it from the angle of what can happen when adoption is not an option.

A bit later, it was ... 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

We've been looking at China, the county's new requirements for adoption, and the idea that they're running out of adoptable children.

In addition to China wanting to give the impression that all is so well within their vast borders that very few children are in need of families, this is also a country with a population of 1.3+ billion people with... more

In writing the other day about the bias against overweight people seeping into the adoption world via Asia, I was prompted to take another look at the new regulations China has imposed that came into effect at the beginning of last month.

Although I gather that Brian Stuy and... 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

Not new news, but another take on some countries banning overweight people from adopting children, this one from Australia, points out that South Korea, Taiwan and China have all decided that hopeful parents of a certain girth need not apply, citing the reasoning as wanting, "the most stable and harmonious environment" for children.

Excuse me, but … ahem … horse hockey.

I don't care what sort of tidy health-by-the-numbers... 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

As I've mentioned, we're planning a trip to Cambodia in August. We travel long distances often, so don't feel compelled to engrave our trip in stone way in advance. There's plenty of time to book tickets and accommodation, and we trust that where we end up staying is where we were meant to be and that timing will work out just as it should.

Such a cavalier attitude, however, did not stop me from sitting up straighter and paying great attention when ... more

As with every sort of journey, at some point someone had to take the first step, and like in human migrations from Africa toward the Russian Steppes, then across the Bering Straights to North America and eventually the corner nearest you, the international adoption journey has pioneers, as well.

Sometimes, it's familiarity with a certain country that instigates investigation into adoption where no program has yet been tried or tested. In other circumstances, it's an awareness of tremendous need that prompts a family... more