Connections
Last October, as one of only 12 Russian-accredited agencies in the U.S., AAI was selected by the State Department to host a Russian delegation for a day. The group—which included an orphanage director, a Ministry of Education representative, two judges, a prosecutor, and a member of the national media—was charged with personally assessing the care and protection of Russian children after their adoptions. Our job was to show them—in just one day—how our work at AAI impacts their children. What an eye-opening, trust-building, future-brightening day it turned out to be!
After my brief welcome and introduction, our Russian Program director, Alla Goncharova, took over. Speaking frankly in Russian, her native language, Alla addressed some of the group’s primary concerns: AAI’s efforts to prepare families for international adoption and adoptive parenting, our home study process and pre-adoption education requirements, and post-adoption reporting and support. She candidly fielded their questions, and distributed printed materials prepared in Russian—building their trust and demonstrating our desire to communicate clearly and openly.
When the group made home visits to three adoptive families, we realized the real extent of the connection we were making that day. What we saw in the faces and demeanor of several group members as they interacted with nine vibrant, confident, healthy adopted children—six of whom were from Russia—was thrilling. Their expressions spoke volumes as they realized, maybe for the first time, what a truly amazing gift adoption can be.
In a unique way, AAI is all about gift-giving—making the connections that give children hope, futures, families. In this month’s newsletter, you’ll read about some of those connections—an enterprising family determined to meet the funding challenges of adoption, a family who adopted a baby boy with a challenging heart condition, a fund-raising effort that forever linked school children in Michigan with orphans in Haiti, and how AAI is working to send supplies to orphanages.
Add the story of one of our newest staff members at AAI, Larissa Koedyker, and you’ll begin to understand why the best part of this “gift-giving” business is the receiving we do along the way!
Best Wishes,
