Every child on this Earth deserves to grow up in a loving family. Those of us who have adopted children from institutions, orphanages, or other less than ideal places to grow up, understand how true this is: A family makes all of the difference in the life of a child.
Every one of us who has adopted a child older than infancy, or one who may have been labeled "special needs", has adopted a Waiting Child. A child who would have grow up unloved, without real hope for a future, without the basics of human connection.
When I think of all of the children who still wait in institutions, I can’t help but think, "But for the grace of God, there my children could also be growing up." We have 5 children adopted at different ages, from various orphanages and backgrounds. Two happened to have been listed on RainbowKids, but ALL were waiting children. No one was tucking them in at night, greeting them with kisses in the morning, celebrating their very existence in the world.
I’m going to ask you today to be part of a miracle. I’ve seen enough miracles happen in this work for children to know that they aren’t often accompanied by booming voices from on-high. Most of the time Miracles happen when people (mostly moms) come together for a common goal, and despite all obstacles, make that goal happen, help that child get adopted, promote that special cause, run that race, pray that prayer: Get involved and make a difference. It makes no difference whether or not your child was listed on RainbowKids. This project is about demonstrating to people how amazing, "normal", and perfect our children really are. That adopting a child with a special needs label, or children older than infants, is a great option for families.
In just a few short weeks, RainbowKids will be featured in the major media in a very positive way. Over one million people who may never have been exposed to International adoption will watch a TV show that will highlight our work. We want to take advantage of this exposure by producing a 3-4 minute video that highlights the joys of adopting Waiting Children. We need your help.
Over 11,000 children once featured on RainbowKids have found families. Thousands more have been placed through our network of nearly 70 supporting adoption agencies. All were “waiting children”. Non-infants, some with special needs, others waiting due to age , gender, or other reasons. Help us to get the word out that special needs and waiting children are wonderful! So many families fear the label “Special Needs” and never look into what that really means.
We need your photos and video clips! Our video will be divided into 3 parts:
- Part 1: Photos of orphanages, plus very short video clips of children, all ages and races, saying "I was a waiting child".
- Part 2: Explanation of what Special Needs really means, and tons of photos of children who carried this label.
- Part 3: A wrap up, inviting people to Take Another Look at Waiting Children
Use your phone, ipad, camera, etc and either video tape your child saying "I was a waiting child" or just being adorable (15-30 seconds at most, please), OR send a photo of your child.
No names of children or countries will be used. Our video will be used on the website, to advocate for the adoption of waiting children. The idea is simply to get people past their fear of the "Special Needs" label, so that their hearts may be open to adopting a waiting child.
It is incredibly EASY to participate. A link to upload your media will be sent to all who request to join in this project to help children. It is truly a one-button process, exactly like uploading a photo to facebook or saving a document to your computer. Please join us in making a miracle happen for the waiting children. Because once, your child, like mine, was one of them. Email Your Link Request.
Thank you.
Martha Osborne
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