Owners of the future

[Judi Mosley]

Here is a recent Vietnamese media article, which illustrates that
Vietnamese
familes ARE very willing to adopt their orphans (dispelling the popular
myth that
culturally the Vietnamese don't want to adopt someones unwanted or
abandoned
child), keep them in their own culture, love and nurture them. The cost of
the formula seems to be their only concern. $12 a month for formula -
that sure makes the the average $10,000 "foreign fees" for adoption by
agencies
look expensive especially as most is unaccounted for, and shows if just a
miniscule
fraction of it were directed towards these local families, that babies
COULD
stay within their own culture. Just imagine what a mere $20 a month could
accomplish
especially during a time when Vietnam is closed to US citizens for adoption.

Judith
(mother to 5 internationally adopted children, two bio)



HA NOI - In a country with limited resources and on
the path of rapid development, it is rather unnatural
to see poor parents adopting orphans and bringing them
up as model citizens.

But that is precisely what has happened in Viet Nam.
Many poor parents, and not all of them childless, have
adopted orphans providing them with a stable roof and
a happy life. This despite the many difficulties faced
while eking out a living.

Tran Cong Vien is such a part of humanity that has
given orphans a hope for the future. Finding a
new-born child abandoned in a communal market in
freezing cold, Vien didn't have to think twice to
decide.

And as doctors declared the child's health beyond
recovery, Vien and his wife nursed it back to life,
sparing no effort or money. The family which earns
about VND600,000 (US$38) per month, spend most of it
on the child. "It cost me more than VND200,000 ($12) a
month to buy milk alone," says Ta Thi Luan, Vien's
wife.

The couple, who remained childless after four years of
marriage, is now a happy family of three. "Yes, the
child has made us very happy," says Luan.

Bringing up an orphan, with four of her own children,
posed no problem for Ban Thi Huong. She and her
husband nurtured the orphan along with the rest of
their children without any discrimination or want,
sharing everything including affection.

Like Vien and Huong, many families with adopted
children are poor farmers who have to toil hard to
make ends meet.

The State, on its part, has tried to help parents and
orphans. The most recent example is the circular,
issued by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social
Affairs in June, on granting social allowance to
orphans.

According to the circular, an orphan aged between 18
months and 15 years would be given VND200,000 ($12)
per month, and those below 18 months would receive
VND270,000 ($17).

This circular, to be approved by the Government, would
increase the social allowance provided to orphans,
which currently stands between VND45,000 ($2.8) and
VND65,000 ($4) a month.

While initially families with adopted children
welcomed the revision, certain clauses in the circular
have made it difficult for them to receive the
monetary support.

According to Pham Ngoc Tien, deputy head of Social
Sponsoring Department, the new social allowance would
be provided only to people who sponsor orphans and not
to those who officially adopt them.

This fails to help people adopting orphans and
discourages certain sections of the society to take
part in adoption.

Ta Kim Due, a senior official at Huong Nha Commune's
Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs in Phu Tho northern
province, pointed out another anomaly in the circular.
"It is easy for anyone, who have officially adopted
orphans, to dodge the circular as they can pretend to
sponsor them for the allowance," he says.

Meanwhile, the circular has left the children confused
on whether to stay with adopted families, of which
they have become members, or opt for sponsors for a
bigger allowance.

The resource-starved parents on the other hand now
face the choice of letting the children stay with them
or sending them to sponsors for a better life.

According to the Social Sponsoring Department, the
number of orphans in the country is more than 130,000.

The choice they make between a stable roof and a
better social allowance will be crucial in deciding
their future as well as the State's efforts to tackle
the problem. - VNS