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(orphanCare
is the humanitarian arm of Dillon International, a
long-time and well-respected intercountry adoption
agency.) In addition to helping individual
children, sponsorships of programs -- such as the
medical personnel at the Indian Society for the
Rehabilitation of Children or Eastern Social Welfare
Society's foster care program in South Korea -- offer
much-needed assistance to support
orphanCare's
mission to make a better life for children.
Participants in the child
sponsorship program receive pictures and updates on the
child they are assisting.
Those updates created a
special connection for Ruth Kitchen, whose family has
sponsored a boy from Korea since the adoption of their
two daughters from Korea in the late 1980's. That
child, who struggled with autism, has now grown into
adulthood and moved on to a vocational program.
"It was a joy to our family to sponsor him from the time
he was a youngster and watch him turn into a young man
who is very dear to our family, " said Kitchen, whose
family now sponsors a 15-year-old girl in Korea.
Lorraine McNeil, the
adoptive mother of two daughters from Korea, has also
experienced the joy of watching a child grow up through
sponsorship. The New York family began sponsoring
a girl with developmental delays in the mid-1990s after
Lorraine visited Korea with her teenage daughters and
saw the needs firsthand. "I think sponsoring a
child has helped us connect with Korea," McNeil added.
"We were so fortunate to adopt our daughters and we
wanted to help more children there."
Ellis and sue Orendorff of
Oklahoma - the adoptive parents of a son and daughter
from Korea - have sponsored children for more than 20
years. "We had a heart for the little children
there and we couldn't adopt any more, so sponsorship was
a way to help provide for kids who have a hard life to
live," Ellis Orendorff explained.
That generosity prompted a
family tradition for their daughter, Sarah Williamson of
Kentucky. "When I was growing up, I can remember
seeing photos of our family's sponsored child on the
refrigerator. One of my favorite memories was
preparing and sending Christmas gifts to our sponsored
children," she recalled. "My parents were
definitely an inspiration in our decision to sponsor.
I am blessed by their care for me and in their influence
of helping others."
Now a grown mother of
three, Sarah and her husband Justin, sponsor a young man
in Korea. "As an adult adoptee, receiving sponsor
updates from Korea can be an emotional experience,"
Williamson said. "There is a chain reaction of
thoughts and emotions that pass over me in respect to
sponsorship. I am so grateful to be placed by God
in the family made for me, but my heart is also saddened
by the acknowledgement of other children who are still
waiting -- especially the older children and those with
mental and physical limitations. Yet, there is
great joy in knowing of the caring people working hard
to give these children, in each of their circumstances,
the best care."
Arnold-Chapman witnesses
similar feelings in her daughters as they learn about
the little girl their family sponsors. "Ada has
begun to grapple with who Lily is and what sponsorship
means," she said. "Ada is sad that Lily does not
have a family, but she's very excited and proud that we
sponsor Lily. When we talk about Lily, Ada is
proud that the orphanage staff take good care of Lily.
It gives her a sense of connection not only to India and
the orphanage, but also to Dillon who helped bring Ada
home to us. It helps Ada to talk about issues
which puzzle or intrigue her like how adoption works,
who lives in an orphanage and what that life is like.
It isn't uncommon for us to pull out the map, check out
India and see where Lily lives."
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