Altynai's Legacy Adoption Fund

Prior to bringing L home from Korea, we fought a 2-year battle to bring home a little girl from Kyrgyzstan.  We were matched with sweet A, 10 days old at the time, at the end of 2007; traveled to Kyrgyzstan for the required bonding period in early 2008; and were awaiting court and our travel date to go pick her up when everything came to a screeching halt. The Kyrgyz government stopped processing adoptions with no explanation.  I traveled back to Kyrgyzstan two additional times to spend time with A - May 2008 and January 2009, with hope garnered from continual promises from the Kyrgyz government that we would be able to complete our adoption and bring our little girl home. Finally, after two years of waiting and no end in sight, we made the excruciating decision to move on and adopt from Korea. However, not a day goes by that I don't think about A and my heart is still very much connected to her, the other children who continue to wait for their forever families, and the families who long to bring them home.

A in 2008

Today, nearly four years later, there are 60+ families (dubbed the "Kyrgyz 65") who continue to wait for their little ones to come home.  These families are my personal heroes.  Time and time again, they have refused to take "no" for an answer and have engaged every resource possible both here and abroad to fight for these children.  Several of these families have spent thousands of dollars of their own money to travel countless times to Washington, DC, New York, and Kyrgyzstan to meet with Members of Congress, Department of State officials, Kyrgyz officials, and adoption advocacy organizations to advocate for these children - children who are literally wasting away physically and mentally in overcrowded orphanages, many who have medical needs and require medical intervention that is not available in Kyrgyzstan.

I have seen first hand the conditions these children live in.  I have held many of these children and seen the longing and sadness in their eyes.  The last time I visited, little A, 1-year old at the time, was in a room with 24 other children and only four caregivers. The children were on a rotating feeding/bathroom (= being tied to a toilet until they went)/play schedule.  If it was not their time for any of these things, they were confined to their cribs, where they basically laid lifeless, having learned that their cries go unheeded.  Can you imagine being in a room with 20+ children confined to cribs and barely hearing a sound? It is an incredibly surreal, eerie, and sad experience; an experience that still haunts me every.single.day.

Worse still, two of the children matched with American families have died while waiting for their forever families - deaths that could have been prevented if not for these long delays.  One of these children, Altynai, was a little girl matched with Suzanne Biliyeu, one of the dear friends I made during our Kyrgyz adoption journey, and her husband, Craig.  Just like us, after traveling to Kyrg and meeting little Altynai, their process stalled. Suzanne happens to be a pediatrician. Through the sparse medical (measurements) updates and pictures received while waiting, Suzanne noticed that something was not right with Altynai and diagnosed her with hydrocephalus, a life threatening medical condition where there is an abnormal accumulation of fluid on the brain - a condition that is easily diagnosed and treated here in the US. The treatment for this condition is the placement of a shunt, which allows the fluid to drain. By the time Suzanne diagnosed Altynai's hydrocephalus (and it is thanks to her that it was diagnosed at all), she had already suffered permanent brain damage from the pressure of the fluid on her brain. Suzanne worked tirelessly to get Altynai the medical attention she needed,  ultimately arranging and paying for her to have shunt placement surgery. However, as a pediatrician, she knew that without careful monitoring and proper follow up care, complications could, and most likely would, arise. But she hoped that she had bought Altynai enough time for her to make it out of Kyrgyzstan and into a family who could provide her the care she needed. Unfortunately and tragically, Altynai did not make it home. She died on August 9, 2010.  She was 2 years old. To read the letter Suzanne wrote upon hearing Altynai had passed, click here.

Suzanne has chosen to honor Altynai's life and keep her memory alive by partnering with Lifesong for Orphans to create a fund in her name to provide the financial assistance necessary for the remaining Kyrgyz 65 to bring their children home. The financial outlays these families have endured over the past 3+ years is tremendous.  In addition to all of the expenses incurred in their advocacy efforts and paying to keep home studies and USCIS documents up to date, many of the families had already paid every cent of their adoption costs - including money paid to the Kyrgyz government - that is now completely lost.  A large group of the families have also incurred the large expense of retaining a private attorney; many have also incurred the expenses of other adoptions while waiting for their Kyrgyz kiddos. In addition, the financial position of some of the families has changed over the past years, making it difficult (or impossible, even) for them to complete their adoptions when the time comes. Suzanne wants to make sure that when the time comes, there is not one single waiting family that is unable to bring home their child because of inadequate funds.  So please, if you are so inclined, visit Suzanne's blog, read about some of the waiting children and families, and if possible, make a donation - however big or small - to help these children come home.

For background and additional information on what is going on with the stalled Kyrgyz adoptions, please see this recent CNN article.