Stories of Adoption

International Adoption: Good News Stories

Two U.S. mothers speak of Russian adoption joy (Reuters, February 11, 2013)

After a nerve-wracking month in Moscow, fearing their adoption bids might be foiled by a diplomatic spat, two U.S. families are now able to take their adopted Russian children home.
Couple recount joy, heartache of adopting five Russian kids (The Salt Lake Tribune, February 11, 2013)

Eight years ago, they adopted two girls - sisters - and a boy from the country, and then tracked down and adopted two of their daughters' siblings. Psychological issues related to abusive childhoods presented challenges, but the family says the experience overall has been amazing. They also say the adoption ban could spur Russia to improve its domestic adoption system.
Russian adopted by Americans returns to help other orphans find homes (Washington Post, February 10, 2013)

When an American couple adopted Sasha at age 5 1/2, the St. Petersburg orphanage informed them that the girl had mild disabilities. Almost 18 years later, she's back in Russia teaching English on a Fulbright grant. She wants to encourage Russians, who adopt in small numbers, to do more.
Family Reunited as Adoption Allowed to Proceed (The Island Packet, February 2, 2013)

After a period of uncertainty, the Gonzalez family returned from Russia to South Carolina earlier this week after a Russian court allowed them to adopt the 2 year-old younger brother of their 4 year-old adopted son, Braeden.
Adoptee returns to Russia after a happy childhood in the U.S. (In Russian, Echo of Moscow Radio, February 1, 2013)

After being adopted and raised by an American family, Yulia Caster has returned to Russia, where she has been offered a position as an English teacher at Tambovsky State Technical University.
Profile of adopted Russian Alexander D'Jamoos (University of Texas at Austin Summer Series)

Alexander D'Jamoos spent his summer climbing Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Born in Penza, Russia, he grew up in an orphanage for children with disabilities. At age 16, he was adopted by an American family and moved from Russia to Texas, where he learned how to walk on prosthetic legs.
Tennessee Family Reacts To Russia's Proposed Ban On U.S. Adoptions (News Channel 5, Dec. 19, 2012)

Elaine and Jeff Jolly have adopted five Russian children since 2001. They say their family is perfect, and news of the adoption ban was hard to bear.
"My U.S. Adoptive Parents Gave Me Life" (Intefax, December 16, 2012)

Interfax published an interview with a young woman who was adopted by Americans as a teenager.
Russian Orphans Present Unique Challenges: One Family’s Story (RIA Novosti, December 13, 2012)

An adoptive mother to three Russian orphans describes the challenges and rewards of raising children who spent a significant part of their lives in an orphanage.
NCCU kicker's journey takes him from Russian orphanage to North Carolina (The Herald-Sun, November 17, 2012)

Russian adoptee Oleg Parent has risen to great heights in football since his adoption by American parents.
In Syracuse, hundreds of families celebrated new beginnings together on National Adoption Day (ABC News Channel 9, November 16, 2012)

The Perkins family, who recently adopted a baby from Russia, expressed their gratitude and happiness.
Adoptee from Russia Thrives in the Face of Challenges (South Washington County Bulletin, November 4, 2012)

Amanda Henderson was born an orphan with cerebral palsy in Moscow, Russia. Despite her struggles, she has flourished and is currently a co-captain of the a soccer team in Washington State.
Fundraiser Keeps Promise to Russian Orphans (Fosters.com, October 14, 2012)

Ongoing fundraising efforts to improve the lives of Russian children and teens in orphanages have been spearheaded by a NY resident who adopted two orphans from Russia and plans to help finance the opening of a living facility in Moscow for teens who have outgrown the orphanage system.
Florida couple await adoption of 18-month-old girl from Russia (Tampa Bay Times, October 4, 2012)

A couple from Florida whose three kids were born with cleft palates is in the process of adopting a girl from Russia with a similar birth defect.
U.S. Paralympian Gold Medalist Locates Russian Birth Parents (Swimming World Magazine, September 19, 2012)

Paralympian swimmer Jessica Long has tracked down her biological family in Siberia and plans to visit Russia next year to meet them.
Disabled Georgian Adoptee Now A U.S. Paralympic Star (RFE/RL, September 11, 2012)

Elizabeth Stone of the United States captured the bronze medal at this year’s Paralympic Games; in Beijing she did ever better, taking home silver. Both times she did so without the bottom half of her right leg. Stone isn't the only Paralympic athlete from the former Soviet Union to have been adopted by a U.S. family. Fellow swimmer Jessica Long, 20, is perhaps the most storied athlete representing the United States in London this year. A double amputee, she was born Tatiana Kirillova and adopted at 13 months of age from an orphanage in Irkutsk, Russia. She has won four gold medals at this year's games, bringing her career Paralympics medal tally to 15. St. Petersburg-born Tatyana McFadden has taken home golds in track and field. One of the swimming stars of the 2004 Athens Games was Mikhaila Rutherford, whose birth mother fled the Chornobyl exclusion zone before giving her daughter up for adoption in Minsk. This year's Paralympics ends on September 9.
Minnetonka Welcomes First Russian Charter School (KSTP-TV Report, September 4, 2012)

Minnesota has the fourth largest Russian population in the United States, with a community of about 40,000 in the Twin Cities. 95 students—many of them adoptees from Russia—enrolled at a new charter school will learn Russian language and culture. "Quite often parents adopt kids from Russia and they want their kids to retain their culture. But since they don't know it, it's very difficult to do," said Eugene Kharam, Lead Teacher.
Russian blogger highlights three young women with physical disabilities, who were adopted from Russia by American families. (Echo Moskvy Radio Website, September 5, 2012)

Russian blogger highlights three young women with physical disabilities, who were adopted from Russia by American families. Today, all three have achieved medals in the Paralympic Games. One of the women has worked in the U.S. Senate on international adoptions and now trains soldiers who have been injured in Iraq. The author notes that while these athletes are celebrated in the United States, they are not even mentioned in Russia. He says it is a pity that none of Pavel Astakhov’s advisors recommended he go to London to meet the athletes, but notes that successful adoptions do not build a political career. More (in Russian) »
Franklin Family Adds 3 Daughters in Russia Success Story (The Tennessean, September 3, 2012)

The couple’s journey to be parents would take them to Siberia, where they fought to adopt three sisters. The girls are settling in to their new lives and keep in touch with their friends from the orphanage, communicating via Skype.
Pennsylvania couple hosts 40 orphans from Russia (The Scranton Times Tribune, Scranton, PA, August 27, 2012 )

A family from a small town in Pennsylvania has hosted 40 Russian orphans in the past 12 years as part of a program that brings orphans from the Soviet Union to spend time with American families in the hopes that they will be adopted. After the head of the World Links Adoption Agency asked the Clarks Summit community for help to find homes for Russian orphans, the Dempsy family rose to the task, accepting children into their home and organizing a summer camp. Their neighbors have also taken up the cause, with another family on the same street adopting ten children.
Russian Girl Paves the Way for Hundreds of Children to Find Forever Homes and Creation of Agency Awarded 2012 Congressional CAI Angel in Adoption (PRWEB, Lubbock, TX, August 30, 2012)

The adoption of a little girl from an orphange in Khabarovsk Russia lead to the creation of a nonprofit adoption agency awarded 2012 Congressional CAI Angel in Adoption and the creation of forever homes for hundreds of children.
Families Celebrate Russian Heritage, Joy of Adoption (The Baptist Standard, TX, August 22, 2012)

Families of children adopted from Russia gathered in Dallas to celebrate the childrens’ Russian cultural roots. Parents said it is important for their children to remain connected with their cultural heritage and to know that their parents support them. The occasion was particularly special for the Bull family, whose two adopted daughters, Natalie and Sarah, attended the event with their grandparents while their parents travelled home from Russia with the newest addition to the family, 15 year-old Lisa.
Durham's Adopted Morin Brothers Find Home, Family in America (Middletownpress.com, July 09, 2012)

A Connecticut family adopted two brothers from Russia in 1997 and adopted their younger brother in 2004 when the orphanage director asked the adoption agency to contact the family because he wanted them to adopt him. They discuss the ups and downs of the adoption process and share anecdotes about the boys’ process of assimilation. Today, the older boys are accomplished athletes and say they feel lucky to be Americans. More »
Adoptions Give Father's Day Meaning (Libertytribune.com, June 14, 2012)

Adoption in Russia gives Kansas family has two additional reasons to celebrate Father’s Day this year... More »
Class of '12: Twice Adopted Naples High Grad with Cerebral Palsy Defies Odds (Naplesnews.com, May 31, 2012)

Despite cerebral palsy, Russian girl adopted in the U.S. will walk on her own at her high school graduation... More »