National Adoption Awareness Month

November is National Adoption Awareness month!  Let’s get involved somehow in the orphan crisis worldwide, please?!

So Why Adoption?

I hear many people say that adoption is a great cause - “I’ll definitely look into it if I can’t have my own kids.”  While that is the reason many couples across the globe choose to turn to the wonderful method of adoption to bring little bundles of joy into their lives, it shouldn’t be the only reason one considers adoption. 

The Need

The need for loving families to adopt is great. In 2008, it was reported by the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that in America alone, there were 123,000 orphans (NumberOf.net).  But why should we? It’s not our fault their parents’ died or are abusers or druggies or have been put in jail, right? What does it matter to us?

As humans, we desire to help others and to heal the hurting.  The issue of orphans and the lack of adoption taking place to help them is a large problem in today’s world - a world we all call home.  Many organizations are reaching out and identifying the needs orphans face around the world.  Social workers, humanitarians, activists - all are seeing the need, the hurt, and going to being a better life to a child in need. 

Consider It

While I strongly believe that as many loving families as can should adopt, I am not saying it is for everyone or should be required for every family.  What I do strongly believe is that every family should at least consider the possibility of becoming an adoptive family, helping orphans in some way, or find a way to assist an adoptive family.  Adoption is not something every family can or should do. However, every person should help orphans in some way or another.  

My hope is that, this month, this blog will encourage you to consider ways to get involved in supporting the cause of the orphans and adoption.

What will your role be?

Poop Parasite!!!

A couple of weeks back, we went to a Pre-School reunion and his first (ever) teacher commented on how “weird” his “poops” were (when he was in diapers).  Sadly, that same day, we were watching a show on PBS called Dinosaur Train and the theme of the show was “Everybody Poops”.  It seemed that on this particular Saturday, I couldn’t escape poop! This double whammy of poop interactions reminded me of just how important poop really is.  And like every 3 year old, K is OBSESSED with his poop!  He affectionately screams from the bathroom when he poops, asks me to help wash his booty and always let’s me know that he “made a snake” or a “volcano” or whatever!!!  When I say obsessed—I ain’t kidding folks!  But as I normally do, I digress!!!

Yet, several months’ back, these same kinds of things were swirling through my head because I was concerned that K had come home from Ethiopia with some kind of intestinal thing.  It’s a given thing that, ya know, the water isn’t that great in certain parts of the world and you could have a parasite just lurking around!!!  And… his poop was HIDEOUS and was never solid (TMI?  Probably, but really, I am getting to the point… soon).  When I took him to the doctor for a failed allergy thingy (failed because when I called to make the appointment, he was congested  and had a runny nose, but once we got there, he was fine), I mentioned my “poop” concerns, so she decided to run some tests to rule out a parasite.  Awesome!  Win for Mom for remembering the “other” concern I had!

Being a first time mom, I thought, “Oh thank goodness!!!  Can’t wait to find out if there is anything ‘wrong’ with his intestinal track” until she handed me 5 vials, a plastic “potty” that sits on the potty itself, and rubber gloves!  Um… what kind of tests???  Apparently, I didn’t know that I needed to collect “samples” and “scoop” them into these tiny containers.  EGAD!  Not only that, they give you these “mini” scoops that are attached to the top of the lid of these “collection” tubes.  It’s pretty nasty!  And like I have said before, why wasn’t there some sort of class or pamphlet about this before I became a mom?  I had to learn about how to talk to my kid about trans-racial issues (which I totally get), but no one told me that I might have to scoop his crap into a vial, keep it in my fridge and then bring it back to the doctor?  

Sadly, there is no good way to collect this (literal) crap for the doctor and since I had a morning meeting on the day I was supposed to drop it off, I essentially had to carry it around in my purse for a couple of hours until I could get back to the “lab” to return those samples.  Nothing like a crap filled purse to start your day off! 

So…what’s the moral of this post?  Why would I spend time writing about poop?  Nothing really.  Sometimes, as parents (as people) we need to do a job that is just strait up shi$%y.  We do it.  We hate it, but we do it!

Good news was that, no, he didn’t have a parasite.  Bad news… my son has just really horrific poop!

Get Passionate!!!

I know that people are passionate about what they’re passionate about. We are all drawn to different things.  Let’s see what’s out there right now—the war, gas prices, the economy, clean water, clean energy, plug in cars, Politics, European union, burning down the trees in the Amazon, having an African American President, etc.  Yet, since two of my passions are clean drinking water and the orphan crisis, Ima talk about that for a minute!  

I do indeed know that most people are horrified by the statistics of orphans in the world (please be aware that the US has a LARGE orphan crisis!!!  Don’t be deceived into thinking that it’s only in third world countries!)!

Please just look at these statistics and ponder!  I know not everyone is called to adopt—if you aren’t PLEASE DO NOT!  But you can do something!  We can ALL do something!  Even if it’s just us being made aware!

Every 15 SECONDS, another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa

Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans

Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone)

143,000,0002 Orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years

3 in an orphanage or foster home

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…

Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system

Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT

Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home

Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.

Between 1990 and 2000, the number of orphans in Africa rose from 30.9 million to 41.5 million, and those orphaned by AIDS increased from 330,000 to seven million.

884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.  3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

Let’s get passionate about something other than ourselves!  Right? :-)