A Birthday Request.

If I could ask for anything for my birthday it would be to make international adoption easier.  Right now organizations like UNICEF that were created to protect children are actually stumbling blocks.  They push countries to keep children in country- in country where there are starving and wandering the streets and gathered in truck loads (literally) and sold into the slave trade.  It is disgusting.  Every child deserves a family, food in their tummy, and love.  Orphans deserve to be cared for.  Whether UNICEF considers them "true orphans" or not.  When a child has no one to feed them or care for them, when they are abandoned- they don't know whether their parents died or not, but they know they are alone- all alone.  It is heart breaking.  Adoption is not the sole answer, but ending adoption is in no way a solution.  The solution MUST be multifaceted and it must include adoption.  There is no other hope for children ALREADY abandoned.  Why should they be left and neglected because their situation is not ideal?  They need to be given a chance.

Would you contact your congressmen and Senators today and ask them to co-sign the Franks/Lee letter that fights for children in adverse situations and includes adoption as part of their plan.  They must sign by 5pm on 2/13- tomorrow.  So take a minute and email them now.  There is a sample letter at the bottom of this post, that you can copy and paste.

Let's DO something for these kids...send an email. It's a start.

Dear Colleagues, Please help us garner Congressional support for ensuring that the US government leads the way in ensuring children live within safe, permanent family care by contacting your Members of Congress by COB, Tuesday, February 12th.   What’s Happening With the support of Senators Mary Landrieu and John Boozman, Representatives Trent Franks and Barbara Lee have authored a letter commending USAID Administrator Raj Shah, Administrator Donald Steinberg, and Special Adviser Neil Boothby on the launch of a "National Action Plan on Children in Adversity.”    What We’re Asking You To Do We need you and your families and supporters to contact their three Members of Congress asking them to co-sign the Franks/Lee letter.  Courtesy of our colleagues at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, a sample ‘ask’ is included below (be sure to tell your Members to contact Franks or Lee’s office for more info on how to cosign).   Please make your calls and then spread the word! Why It’s Important For the first time ever US government policy makes children living in safe, permanent family care a priority of our foreign assistance.  And intercountry adoption is also a specific part of the plan for the first time!  Getting Congress involved in ensuring the plan has adequate resource and implemented successfully is critically important.    The bi-partisan letter clearly supports the goals of the Action Plan including one of the key pillars – ensuring children live in safe, permanent family care.  It also asks for further discussion on two important elements; funding and the selection of pilot countries.  We need your help to make Congress aware and to solicit their support. Again, please make your calls and spread the word!  The deadline for Members of Congress to cosign the letter is Wednesday, February 13th, so we need the calls to be made by COB Tuesday, February 12th. Thanks in advance for your support.
Best Wishes, Tom DiFilipo
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SAMPLE APPEAL TO YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS Courtesy of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) Ensure U.S. Foreign Policy Emphasizes Family-Based Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children DEADLINE: COB Wednesday, Feb 13th Senators Mary Landrieu and John Boozman are circulating a letter authored by Representatives Trent Franks and Barbara Lee commending USAID Administrator Raj Shah, Administrator Donald Steinberg, and Special Adviser Neil Boothby on the launch of a "National Action Plan on Children in Adversity.” The Action Plan has come about as a result of PL 109-95, "The Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005," which called for a comprehensive, coordinated, and effective response on the part of the U.S. Government to the world's most vulnerable children. The Action Plan is the first of its kind, a whole-of-government strategy that will bring together seven different government agencies and departments to coordinate our foreign assistance programs targeting children in adversity. The goal of the Action Plan is to "achieve a world in which all children grow up within protective family care, and free from deprivation, exploitation, and danger." The Action Plan lays out three principal objectives: 1) build strong beginnings, 2) put family care first, and 3) protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Special Advisor Neil Boothby will work with interagency partners over the next 5 years to ensure that all U.S. Government activities under the plan are implemented by appropriate U.S. Government departments and agencies, integrated into relevant U.S. Government foreign policy initiatives, and enhanced through engagement with governmental and nongovernmental partners. Please consider signing the letter to congratulate USAID leaders on this achievement, and to request further dialogue with Members of Congress to ensure successful implementation of the Action Plan's core objectives.  Deadline to cosign is 5 pm Wednesday, Feb. 13th. The letter is being circulated for signatures in both the House and Senate. Please contact Bethany Haley (Rep. Franks) or Jirair Ratevosian (Rep. Lee) for more information.