Mention the word 'adoption', and the name most likely to spring to mind is Madonna. Add the media hype surrounding the star's controversial adoption of 'Baby David' from Malawi, and the term has become a fashionable accessory of the celebrity world that undermines the real story for families who have gone through the correct channels of what can often be a long and laborious adoption process.
Far from flying into a country of your choice, choosing a child of your choice and flying back home with a new child as the media frenzy surrounding Madonna has depicted, the true process of adoption isn't quite so simple.
And, it is that message among others that is been conveyed during this, the tenth National Adoption Week, which runs until Sunday next, 12th of November.
Children in Northern Ireland are adopted through one of three ways: family adoption where children are adopted by family members, intercountry adoption, and children within the care system in this country who need families for life. All of these routes to adoption require families to be involved in intense assessment and court processes.
This week, the Sperrin Lakeland Trust adoption team is calling on people to take the first step towards adopting a child. The campaign aims to help find families for up to 4,000 children across the UK .
One of the overriding principles for adoption is that your family will have the time to accommodate the needs of a new family member and have the motivation, commitment, energy, health and skills to parent your adopted child into adulthood, giving them a solid foundation to move into their own future with the security of a family for life.
Ms Maguire said her team wanted to remind people that they particularly need families who would welcome older children, more than one child, or babies affected by parental drug or alcohol misuse into their homes.
Over the past 10 years, many people have come forward and gone on to adopt as a result of National Adoption Week. But, according to the adoption team based in Enniskillen, the campaign is needed now more than ever as too many children and young people wait for too long for a permanent family.
Could you be the parent that a child in care is waiting for? Pick up the phone and find out more. It might be the most important call you ever make." If you want to find out more, contact Wendy, Clare or Sandra at The Adoption Team in Enniskillen on 028 66 344 4000.
Could you be the parent that a child in care is waiting for?
Publication Fermanagh Herald
Date November 08, 2006
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