This is Nathan. Nathan is 2 years old and is legally an orphan in Eastern Europe. He's available for adoption and his social worker is actively seeking a family for this precious little boy. But Nathan's story is different than most orphans with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe. It started out the same.....baby is born, baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, birth parents declare that they can not parent baby due to the fact that he has Down syndrome and refuse to take him home. Now, here's where Nathan's story is different: This baby was NOT sent to an orphanage to live. Instead, he was placed with a foster family immediately after birth. He has NEVER stepped foot in an orphanage. This is VERY unusual in Eastern Europe. But that's not the end of Nathan's unusual story. Nathan's birth family stayed involved in his life. Sadly, his birth parents marriage did not survive the stress and changes that happened after Nathan's birth, but his birth mother has stayed an active part of his life. She visits him twice a month to spend time with him.
Nathan's birth mother is not in a position to raise Nathan. She has been given encouragement and support, but does not feel that her situation is one that is conducive to raising a child with a disability in her country. However, she DOES want Nathan to have a permanent family. She is aware that this won't happen in her country. She has given permission for Nathan to be adopted internationally and ensured that all of the paper work is legally in order so that Nathan can immediately be adopted by a family that submits a dossier requesting to adopt him.
She didn't just stop there. In an effort to help her son find a forever family, she took over 10 photos of Nathan and gave them to us ("us" being Reece's Rainbow), in an effort to help find a family for her son. We even have a photo of Nathan with his birth mother.
Today, I look at these photos and think about this mother. A mother who loves her son so much that she would take photos to be given to a stranger on the other side of the world, in the hopes that another mother will see them and step forward to also be a mother to her little boy. I can't even begin to imagine the enormity of that decision. Nathan's birth mother has indicated that she'd love to receive updates on Nathan as he grows and it is possible that the adopting family can meet her during the adoption process. This is a very unique opportunity in international adoption and I am praying that a family will step forward for this precious little boy very soon!
*If you are interested in learning more about adopting Nathan you can contact Reeces Rainbow at: http://www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/index.php
Wow, he is adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Ashley Yoon
ReplyDeleteI came across your site and wanted to ask you to join with me in asking SOS children's villages to set up loving homes for the neglected children with disabilites of Eastern Europe. Here is my email to them:
"I have learned of the horrible fates of the unwanted and unloved children with disabilities living within institutions in Romania and Bulgaria that had been transferred from orphanages (not such a great thing itself) into unimaginable conditions. While researching on any and all possible ways I could help, I came across the wonderful work that SOS children's villages does for orphaned children worldwide. I want to support SOS in all that they do, but I want to suggest that several children's villages be built in Eastern Europe, specifically for disabled children who are suffering in adult mental institutions. These children as young as the age of 5 have no hope of being adopted or having a loving family to comfort them; they are housed away in conditions worse than animals, having little human interaction or care. I am heart broken knowing that everyday, children are dying thinking they didn't matter, and I beg that SOS step in immediately to save these children. I have begun working with local churches in my area to find ways that we can support this idea and make a dream into reality for children who otherwise have no future. Their little lives would change dramatically if they were given the chance of a loving, caring family such as the ones SOS sets up. Please consider."
Please consider spreading the word on your site and emailing SOS asking them to get these children into a loving family enviroment that they deserve.