We met with the social worker from Gentle hands and it turns out that we won't be allowed to foster. At least not until Ellyana is one year old. It's a requirement that any child you foster is at least one year older or younger than any children in the family. Although we knew this we had hoped that because of this specific situation we might get around it. In fact when we were approved to be foster parents we thought we had. But although the DSWD has approved us, they are not approving the placement of any child with us until next year. It seems for the moment E.R.'s situation has been worked out. She is in the nursery but cared for exclusively by a different carer who is not a family member.
So... now we at least know for sure and are able to make some plans for the coming year. My feelings are a mixture of disappointment and relief but we both feel an overriding peace about it all. All along we had prayed that this would only work out if it was God's plan for our family. So we are confident that this closed door means it was not. We can only continue to pray for this sweet baby girl that she will soon be placed with a loving family who will keep her forever. Perhaps all of this was just meant to open our minds to fostering and perhaps it will still be a part of our future. For now we're happy to sit back and enjoy our own two beautiful girls and wait expectantly to see what plans God has for our future.
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Hi, it’s really nice to read your blog, someone with similar feelings, attitude, approach etc. what we found out (surprising), that it’s quite rare.
ReplyDeleteWe are at the beginning of our adoption process. We’re planning to adopt 3 siblings from Philippines age 3-10. We’re also ,,combined cultures’’ family. We don’t hurry up; it’s ok for us 1 or 10 years waiting for a best match.
All advices we will gratefully welcome.
Some questions, which can answer only someone who lives there are: do children speak English in orphanages and in foster families? Is provided school for them in English? Is a school taken seriously? What age children usually start a primary school?
Psychological and medical issues are different stories, but for practical questions it’s ironically more difficult to find answers.
If you could share some practical links, would be great!
All the best for you all:)
Hi Filips,
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed reading, I haven't updated for a while as there hasn't been any news!
I'll try and answer your questions the best I can. As for language spoken in orphanages, it really depends on the orphanage and also where it is as to what language is spoken. An orphanage in Manila would be mostly Tagalog, but one in another region could be one of many languages used in the Philippines. There are quite a few orphanages started by Westerners and I would guess that English is more commonly spoken in those, although if the children are already older then they would obviously speak their own language. English is a lot more common in the Philippines compared to other Asian countries though, so even the local languages do use some English words and often even kids have some basic English. As for foster families, again it just depends, but obviously there are more local Filipino foster families who would speak mostly their own dialect than English speaking ones.
As for school, Grade 1 is usually age 6 here but in poor areas there are often older kids still in lower grades. Education is considered important however many times the kids will have to work or beg to help provide for the family. I'm not sure what the schooling system is for government orphanages, but i know private ones who send the kids to government or private schools or even have their own school. Again it just depends on the school how much English is spoken, but most classes will be in the local language.
A link that you might find helpful, this is the dept of social welfare in the Philippines webpage. Also the embassy / consulate of your home country in Manila should have some info for you regarding adoption.
http://www.dswd.gov.ph/index.php/faq/1890-intercountry-adoption-requirements-and-procedures