LSS International Adoption Program
begins adoptions from Guatemala
"On St. Patrick's Day, 2004,
we received a call from Angela, our social worker in Minneapolis, who told
us that LSS had begun a new international adoption program," said Cathy
Zeder, of Victoria. "They were looking for a family for their first
Guatemala adoption. We were very interested."
And so began the adoption
process of little John Zeder, the first child to be placed through the new
Guatemala adoption program at LSS. Currently, four families have adopted
from Guatemala through LSS, seven families have been "matched" with
children, and 10 more families have their documentation prepared for
adoption. As of 2004, Guatemala is the third most popular foreign country
for U.S. families choosing to adopt.
Cathy and Gerry Zeder adopted
their first child, Jacqueline, through Lutheran Social Service of Western
New York when they lived in Buffalo, New York. Because of their very
positive experience, they decided to use LSS of Minnesota in Minneapolis
for their second adoption.
Luann Zimmer, International
Adoption program manager at LSS, asked the Zeder family to be the
"pioneering family" for the Guatemala program because Cathy has some
Mexican/Spanish heritage through a grandfather, and she is a Spanish
teacher. Cathy's ancestry, along with their previous adoption experience,
made the family a perfect fit.
"Jacqueline, now eight years
old, was adopted domestically and she came home with us when she was two
days old," Cathy said. "John was so very cute and looked so sweet when we
received the referral - we knew that he was the child for us! Everything
about our adoption went very well. LSS did an outstanding job helping us
to adopt our son. They were so responsive to our needs and concerns. Since
we were the first family at LSS to adopt a child from Guatemala, they
didn't always have the answer, but they helped us every step of the way."
After the referral, LSS shared
monthly medical and photographic updates on John with Cathy and Gerry
after the referral. In October 2004, seven months later, Luann and the
Zeder family traveled to Guatemala to pick up John. They were there for
four days. Cathy described the adoption process as fairly systematic.
"Things are done ahead of time, and adoptive parents usually don't have to
go into court, as they do in some other countries." According to Luann,
"the process went very smoothly for a new international program."
"John is 22 months old now and
he is adjusting nicely. We couldn't have asked for a better child," Cathy
said. "He is healthy, happy and very sociable. I think that my Spanish has
helped him transition, but his English is already very good. He is a
perfect match for Jackie, and they love to play together. She can now see
that the Spanish I am teaching her is important. She sings to John in
Spanish and he really responds."
Adoptive families say they
like the new LSS Guatemala program for several reasons. First, Guatemalan
children are relatively healthy. Secondly, the travel time to Guatemala is
short, and there is no jet-lag because most of the country is in the same
time zone as Denver, Colorado, one hour behind Minnesota.
Luann said that adoption is
frequently a good choice for unmarried, pregnant women in Guatemala. There
is a stigma attached to being a single parent, and the women are afraid to
bring shame on their families. Unfortunately, about 75% of people in
Guatemala live in poverty, and most women cannot afford to parent a child
by themselves. "The Guatemalan people may be poor economically, but
socially, they are very rich," said Cathy. "They are a very warm people."
Now that John is acclimated,
healthy and happy in Minnesota, the Zeder family is planning ahead so that
John can grow up being connected with the culture he comes from. "When the
child first gets home, their physical, mental and spiritual health is your
first concern," Cathy said. "There are huge groups of parents in the Twin
Cities who have adopted children from Guatemala, and who get together
monthly. Speaking Spanish, and being around other children from Guatemala
will be key to teaching John about his heritage."
For more information on the
International Adoption programs at LSS, contact Luann Zimmer at (612)
879-5251 or lzimmer@lssmn.org.
The number of
international adoptions in the U.S. in any given year is estimated from
the number of orphan visas issued, as reported by the State Department.
Source:
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html
|
FY 2004 |
# of Orphan Visas |
|
CHINA
(Mainland) |
7044 |
|
RUSSIA |
5865 |
|
GUATEMALA |
3264 |
|
SOUTH KOREA |
1716 |
|
KAZAKHSTAN |
826 |
|
UKRAINE |
723 |
|
INDIA |
406 |
|
HAITI |
356 |
|
ETHIOPIA |
289 |
|
COLOMBIA |
287 |
|
BELARUS |
202 |
|
PHILIPPINES |
196 |
|
BULGARIA |
110 |
|
POLAND |
102 |
|
MEXICO |
89 |
|
LIBERIA |
86 |
|
NEPAL |
73 |
|
NIGERIA |
71 |
|
BRAZIL |
69 |
|
THAILAND |
69 |
|
TOTAL
for Top 20 Countries |
21843 |
|
TOTAL
World Wide |
22884 |
