Oak Park Adoption Agency Announces New Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Adoption-Link will partner with Acres of Hope/The African Alliance for Life
to provide hope to orphaned children in The DRC

Adoption-Link, a full service Hague-accredited adoption agency in Oak Park, Illinois, has joined forces with Acres of Hope (AOH), a charitable organization dedicated to supporting the vulnerable people of Liberia. Recently AOH expanded its mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, calling its program there “The African Alliance for Life.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, is the second largest country in Africa with a population of nearly 72 million. Despite a wealth of natural resources the country has experienced devastating political instability and over 5 million DRC citizens have perished due to war and associated famine and disease. The African Alliance for Life will work with authorities to identify and find help for vulnerable children, including the verification of orphan status for children who have lost their families.

“The goal of our new partnership is to aid and support families and orphans in The DRC through social responsibility and, where appropriate, adoption,” noted Noreen Davidson, Executive Director of Adoption-Link.

Stephanie Francois, Director of International Programs for Adoption-Link, commented on the new relationship. “We are so excited about our new DRC program. We are partnering with an established organization with a huge heart for the DRC and Africa! We look forward to finding families for the many children waiting for permanent, loving homes.”

Potential adoptive families who may be interested in the DRC Program can find detailed information on the Adoption-Link website, www.adoption-link.org. DRC will accept qualified families consisting of married couples or single women. There is no upper age limit for qualified adopting parents to meet United States Citizenship and Immigration Services requirements.

Adoption-Link is accepting new applications from qualified adoptive families for all of its programs, including DRC. Families interested in adopting from DRC are invited to contact Ms. Francois at the Adoption-Link office, 708-524-1433, or email her at Stephanie.Francois@adoption-link.org. For additional information please visit www.adoption-link.org. Adoption-Link will be hosting an Information meeting on Thursday, April 11 from 7-9pm. Potential attendees may register online or via email at info@adoption-link.org.

Special Family Needed

I have been made aware of a unique situation from Adoption-Link, a not-for-profit adoption agency providing humanitarian and adoption services in Haiti. They are trying to locate a very special family to adopt three sisters who were orphaned in the earthquake in Haiti. If you have ever considered adopting from Haiti, adopting a sibling group, or adopting children who have suffered emotional trauma, please consider this request.

Following is a brief description and comments from Jerry Capell, the Board Chair of Adoption-Link:

3 biological sisters ages 13, 9, and 7. The birth father has never been around and abandoned the family many years ago. Their birth mother died in the earthquake despite the girls trying to save her. They have been at Crèche Enfant Jesus since the earthquake. Danielle, the previous Adoption-Link extern in Haiti got to know them over the course of her year in Haiti and feels they may all be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and will need some therapy services. They also received little to no formal education prior to coming to the crèche and therefore it seems the right fit for them would be a family that can home school for at least the first year or more. They also are all three Christians and would need a family that would at least support their faith. Otherwise they are healthy and just want to be adopted. I recognize this is a tall order, but am hopeful through our collective networks we can locate a home for these beautiful little girls. Please feel free to share this email with family, friends, community or religious organizations. More information is available by contacting Heather Breems at Adoption-Link, 708-524-1433 or Heather.Breems@Adoption-Link.org.