WASHINGTON, D.C., August 15, 2011 –- American parents of children stranded in orphanages around the world will take to the National Mall to march to the U.S Capitol on August 26. Dubbed the Step Forward for Orphans, the march is designed to bring attention to the dire situation that’s affecting orphans around the world.
These families, many of whom have been waiting three years to bring their children home, have been caught in disheartening and mind-boggling limbo. These Americans are known as “pipeline” families. They were approved to adopt from foreign countries like Guatemala, Nepal and Vietnam and even paired with specific children, but they have been prevented from bringing their children home due to bureaucratic wrangling here and abroad. In many cases, these families have been blocked from all contact with their children, prevented from visiting, calling or writing, leaving these children alone with only photos of their families and the promises they made.
The fate of the children of these American parents remains unknown as new adoption procedures are drafted, treaties brokered and high-level discussions continue. This hasn’t been going on weeks, or even months. A lack of urgency on the government’s part has stretched this separation of families into years.
Most of theses children are living in squalid conditions with no medical attention, poor nutrition, no education, without toys or books, and without any interaction with loving adults. As years have dragged on, many of these children have become acutely ill and some have been hospitalized.
“The current system is damaging children. A family is every child’s most basic human right. Our current system of adoption stands between kids joining families. At this march, we are coming together to make a statement that we must do a better job for millions of orphans around the world,” said Kelly Ensslin, a lawyer for several of the families.
Joining these parents in the Step Forward for Orphans March are leaders in the international adoption community and children’s aid organizations. The march will be led by Marjorie Margolies, president of Women's Campaign International, a pioneer in the international adoption community and the first single woman to adopt from abroad. The march also coincides with the launch of a member drive for the Both Ends Burning, a multimedia, grassroots campaign aimed at reversing the declining trend in international adoptions and reforming the adoption system.
The hope is that the march will garner the attention of those in the U.S. Department of State who have in their power the ability to take urgent action to assist these families in reuniting with their children and to accelerate the finalization of adoption policies so that other orphans can be adopted into families.
“There are thousands of orphans all around the world who dream of a loving, permanent family to call their own, and our hope is that the Step Forward for Orphans March brings attention to the problems in intercountry adoption that must be addressed now,” said Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council For Adoption.
The Step Forward for Orphans March invites everyone who supports these children to join in marching. To register for the march and get more information, visit Both Ends Burning
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