World Adoption Day – creating happy families the legal way
The National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (NACSA), under its umbrella initiative AddOption, will launch its Right Way to Adopt campaign today, delivering a simple but important message on how to go about adopting a child in the correct and legal manner.
NEWCASTLE – Imagine growing up as an orphan, not experiencing the loving embrace of your mother or your father’s warm words of advice.
November 15 marks World Adoption Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of adoption and celebrating families that were created through adoption.
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The National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (NACSA), under its umbrella initiative AddOption, will launch its Right Way to Adopt campaign today, delivering a simple but important message on how to go about adopting a child in the correct and legal manner.
“Ensuring that adoptions take place in a legally compliant manner is crucial in protecting the rights of the child, the birth parents and the adoptive parents,” said Katinka Pieterse of NACSA.
Since its inception, NACSA has worked to build communities that put the needs and rights of adoptable children first.
“While we sympathise with adoptive parents relating to the timely and emotional process of adoption, first and foremost is to ensure that there is a correct match between a child and parents, and the rights of the child are sacrosanct,” Ms Pieterse explained.
Ms Pieterse said NACSA has seen examples on social media, where desperate mothers advertise children for ‘adoption’ or unregistered and unaccredited baby homes ‘selling’ children to unknowing parents.
“Abductions are a reality, as is dealing directly with a birth parent without an accredited social worker and accepting a child from a public servant without going through the legal adoption process.”
Ms Pieterse said she was told of cases where police offers asked people reporting an abandoned child if they would like to keep the child, or simply handing the abandoned child to community members who lost a child or expressed an interest in caring for abandoned children.
While individuals were required to sign an affidavit, attesting to the fact that they are taking care of the child, no further formal legal processes are undertaken and the children remained in limbo, and highly vulnerable to abuse.
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“Such ad-hoc allocation of guardians to abandoned children is contradictory to the rigorous screening and government intervention that takes place during a formal adoption.”
Child protection researcher and activist, Dee Blackie said NACSA needed to educate people that anything less than the correct protocol in adoption amounted to child trafficking.
NACSA has developed various educational materials detailing the correct, 7-step legal process of adoption as follows:
1. Application
2. Orientation
3. Screening
4. Waiting list
5. Identifying child for adoption
6. Legalisation
7. Finalisation
“Adopting a child will change your life forever, and your heart and family will grow in ways you didn’t even know were possible,” Ms Pieterse said.
While explaining that the adoption process was a melting pot of red tape, emotions, paperwork and patience, it was for good reason.
“Finding out if adoption is right for you and getting started on fulfilling your dream of adopting a child to love and provide for is a journey, and at its core is first and foremost the rights and best interest of the child,” Ms Pieterse concluded.
In Newcastle, there are two facilities that care for in children in need, Morester Children’s Home and Home Meah.
“They are homes and places of safety for rejected, abandoned and orphaned children. Our aim is to take care of these children, for them to be reunited with their families or be placed with adoptive or foster parents,” said Ria Naudè of Morester Children’s Home.
While aiming to improve the quality of life for the children, Mrs Naudè said Christian Motivated Development (CMD) are the only accredited adoption in Newcastle, and would deal with adoptions in Newcastle.
“Please support us and help a child in need.”
For more information on how to help Morester Children’s Home or Home Meah, contact Ria Naudè on 082 301 9528.
To learn more about the right way to adopt, go to www.adoption.org.za or call 0800 864 658 for any adoption queries.
To show your support for World Adoption Day, draw a smiley face on the palms of your hand and take a photo. Post the picture to social media using the hash tag #WorldAdoptionDay.
