Overseas Officials To See International Adoption=92s Success
By Shereen Oca
Staff Writer
A group of high-ranking delegates and officers from China and Cambodia
will visit Long Beach this Saturday in an effort to learn more about
international adoption from the people it directly affects =97 adoptive
families, their children and adult adoptees =97 at the annual Holt
Family Picnic.
More than 300 people connected through Holt International Children=92s
Services will reunite, celebrate and share their adoption experiences
this Saturday at El Dorado East Regional Park.
=93It=92s rare that we get the highest-ranking officials,=94 said Sally
Dunbar, of Holt Family Recruitment.
The officials are members of the China Centre of Adoption Affairs and
the Chinese Department of Civil Affairs as well as officers from the
Royal Government of Cambodia. For some of them, including China=92s
Director of Civil Affairs, this visit will be a milestone, organizers
said, as they haven=92t had the op****tunity to see the adopted children
in their new environment.
=93We want to let officials know how good these children grow in their
family,=94 said Jian Chen, director of programs with China at Holt. =93To
see what kind of sup****t these children have in the U.S.=94
At the picnic, the international delegates will have a chance to meet
with many of the 75 families expected to attend =97 families such as the
Davees.
For 10 years, Mary and Bill Davee tried to have a baby, during which,
Davee endured two ectopic pregnancies and one miscarriage. Then, Davee
said she remembered seeing a news program in high school on the large
number of G.I. babies left in Korean orphanages.
=93I thought if my father hadn=92t married my mom, I could have been one
of those babies,=94 said Davee, who is of African American and Korean
descent. =93It had a special place with me, although I didn=92t know it at
the time.=94
That impression remained with Davee throughout the years, she added.
Although she couldn=92t remember the specific name of the adoption
agency, she said she knew it contained four letters. Holt.
The Davees contacted the adoption agency, and now are the parents of a
girl from China, 27-month-old Jinji.
Harry and Bertha Holt were inspired in a similar way in the 1950s.
Spurred on by images of mixed race children in Korean orphanages, the
Holts were moved to take the children in as their own, a practice
unheard of at the time, according to the organization. They moved both
Houses of Congress to pass a law allowing them to adopt, and soon
thereafter, the couple became parents of eight Korean War orphans. In
1956, Holt International was born.
In addition to the families, Chinese and Cambodian officials will meet
with adult adoptees like Todd Kwapisz.
Korean-born Kwapisz was adopted in 1973. He grew up in what he called
the mostly-white community of Lake Orion, Mich. People often ask him
if he was treated differently, but he said he didn=92t think about being
adopted until he was 18. That=92s when his parents sent him on a Holt-
coordinated heritage tour to Korea with 40 others who also were
adopted.
=93(There was a) common thread of stories (about being) adopted,=94
Kwapisz said. =93Families didn=92t look like us. Questions about being
adopted. Being different. To have that bond and be able to talk to
other people who can relate to you was a powerful experience.=94
Kwapisz now serves as director of Holt=92s Adult Adoptee Outreach.
=93Holt has learned adoption is a lifelong process,=94 Kwapisz said, which
is the reason it puts together programs such as heritage camps and
tours and hosts reunion picnics.
The presence of Cambodian officers this year is particularly
im****tant, Dunbar said, because currently inter-country adoption laws
between Cambodia and the U.S. are closed and have been since 2001.
Dunbar said she hopes this experience will help the Royal Government
=93gain reassurance that results are positive.=94
A Korean-style barbecue lunch and children=92s activities, including a
water balloon toss, a three-legged race and bounce houses, are planned
for the picnic. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 7550 E.
Spring St.
=93It=92s sort of a vision of the future for us,=94 Davee=92s husband,
Bill
said of seeing adoptive families with children of all ages. =93It=92s a
very joyful experience.=94
Although the picnic=92s primary focus is on Holt families, it is open to
adoptive families from other agencies and also those interested in
international adoption.
For more information on Holt, call (541) 687-2202 or go to
www.holtinternational.org.
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