Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008
The first day that 10-year-old Paula arrived at Amanda Mason's Urbana home in June, she was reticent and shy, and didn't like being in a new, American family.
Paula, who is Colombian, lived with the Masons for five weeks as part of Kidsave's "Summer Miracles," a program that pairs American host families with Colombian orphans, ages 8 -12, in the hope that they will find adoptive families here.
Kidsave is a Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.-based child advocacy nonprofit with a mission to end harmful institutionalization of children living in orphanages and foster care. The organization is not an adoption agency.
Since June 30, seven families in the Washington, D.C. metro area, including two in Frederick County, have hosted eight children in their homes. For five weeks, the children experience family life and American culture and attend weekly Kidsave events intended to bring together host families and children with families interested in adoption.
On Saturday, Paula and the Masons joined other host families and Colombian children in Baker Park for the last Kidsave-organized picnic and pool party of the summer. On Monday, the children returned to their foster homes and orphanages in Colombia, their summertime cultural exchange over.
Paula, the little girl who was once shy, sashayed up to Jean Kim, co-coordinator of Kidsave Summer Miracles program, and rattled off a list of her favorite things in America: swimming, ice cream, fishing, "washing the car, and the beach, of course," Paula said in Spanish.
Minutes before, Paula had been fearlessly riding a bicycle around the picnic area, her legs pumping faster to gain momentum, her uneasiness gone. Spanish-language music played in the background as families noshed on fried chicken, macaroni salad and fruit spread on the wooden picnic tables near the park's swimming pool.
"It's just been nice getting to know her and spend time with her," said Mason, who has four children of her own.
The family took trips to Harper's Ferry, W.Va., to go tubing, visited the zoo in Baltimore and played in the pool.
Mason's sister-in-law, Natalie Gipson of Ijamsville, also participated in the Summer Miracles program and hosted 9-year-old Isaac. The two families vacationed together on the Eastern Shore, they said.
Mason and Gipson hosted Paula and Isaac knowing that they would not adopt them, but focused their energies on advocating for them in finding a family. The women said there are two families interested in adopting Isaac and Paula.
For Gipson, the idea that Isaac has a potential adoptive family makes his parting a little easier.
"It gives me such peace," she said. If there hadn't been a family interested in adopting him, Gipson said her family would have to consider adoption because they have bonded with him.
Gipson, a mother of three, said her children treated Isaac like a brother and had difficulty saying goodbye.
"They were a little bit of a mess yesterday," she said Saturday.
Mason said her 7-year-old daughter, who shared a room with Paula, was also not ready to see her leave.
Andres Castillo, volunteer co-coordinator for the program, noted that host families and children have developed positive relationships.
"There's been a real great connection between the families and the kids ÷ so we're pretty happy with the way it's going so far," he said.
Castillo added that before this program, the children did not know one another because they live in different Colombian cities.
According to Kim, three host families were not interested in adopting, but only wanted to advocate for their host children. In addition to the interest generated by Kidsave picnics, the organization has received calls from as far away as Ohio, Minnesota and Florida from families interested in meeting the children, Kim said.
Now that the children are back in their home country, host families have two weeks to decide if they want to adopt the children. If not, prospective adoptive families have two weeks after that to decide, Castillo said.
Families must coordinate the adoptions through an accredited, international adoption agency, which means filing paperwork, undergoing background checks, traveling to Colombia, and navigating the country's legal system. The entire process could take six or seven months, Castillo noted.
Gipson and Mason said they are open to hosting again, and are working to establish a Frederick network of host families for next summer. In preparation for the arrival of the children, Mason, Gipson and their families had to undergo a background check, medical testing for HIV and tuberculosis, and a home study conducted by a social worker.
They also completed Kidsave training in child psychology and ways to set up their home to teach the children how to live in a family.
