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 to put themselves through an unproved wringer.

Children have come into these pioneering families thanks to determination and dedication to the end goal of building what had not been built before. Sometimes, however, all the best intentions and tremendous efforts are to no avail.

This is not to say, however, that the time and resources expended are necessarily wasted when the trail stops before it can lead to adoption.

Often, it's such groundbreaking that leads the way for others or provides the impetus that prompts governments to include the option of international adoption in their child welfare plans.

Occasionally, however, the benefit is personal.

Take for example the case of the Kalinowski family ...

Cyndy and Matt Kalinowski thought to take a chance at pioneering adoption from the West African nation of Burkina Faso. They understood the odds, but had their reasons for pursuing the process that would add two daughters, Delilah, 14, and her sister Stephanie, 10, to their family, as well as a medically fragile girl, 17, who they had housed during some treatment, but who had returned to Burkina Faso.(For details and a great read, visit the family's blog,

With amazing resilience and tremendous grace, Cyndy and Matt turned what could have been a tragedy that colored lives forever into a loving, nurturing and hopeful situation for everyone involved.

From an email:

Adopting from Burkina Faso is not a realistic choice at the present time. However, our sponsorship of our girls is going quite well.

Our medically fragile daughter was able to get her prosthetic repaired and is now attending sewing school. We sponsor the whole family and it has helped cut down on the catastrophe's and crisis tremendously. Now everyone is on a small allowance and that seems to be working well.

... One child was a medical visa and the other 2 were an unsuccessful adoption. While not everyone would go this route, I would encourage any of you with a failed adoption, but the opportunity to continue contact to do so. The internet makes communication much easier.

Sponsorship may not put the child in your home, but it does make a tremendous difference in the lives of those you are sponsoring. Our girls and their families see us as their parents and we are very, very involved in their daily lives. We are Mom and Dad to these kids. Of course we share -- it's a Muslim country and in Rakieta's case in particular there is quite an extended family -- however after this long time, we are usually asked for input or are the actual ones to make the final decisions.

We are heading over this fall to spend time and since we are able to get 5 year visas I, at least, will be going over regularly.

This was not what we pictured when we first began our journey, but it is very rewarding nontheless and we couldn't picture our lives without our girls or all their relatives.

Please join me in my congratulations to the Kalinowskis for their wonderful, beautiful, loving family, their pioneering work toward adoption in Burkina Faso, and the fortitude they've proven by thinking outside the box to create a safe place for all their girls.

For information on adoption from Burkina Faso, here's the US State Department's site on the country.