A Child Chosen - Perspectives of an Adoptive Parent

Nicole Richie and UNICEF

by Marcie on May 20th, 2008

Nicole Richie (adopted as a child by Lionel Richie) and Joel Madden have recently recorded public service announcements to help support UNICEF’s efforts in Myanmar.

Certainly a far cry from her days on The Simple Life, eh?

I am wondering, however, if Richie knows of UNICEF’s stance on Inter-Country Adoption; UNICEF believes that families needing support to care for their children should receive it, and that alternative means of caring for a child should only be considered when, despite this assistance, a child’s family is unavailable, unable or unwilling to care for him or her. They also believe that true orphans (children who have lost both parents) should be reunited with extended family instead of placed for adoption.

While I believe that in some cases this is appropriate, many people in countries that UNICEF aids (Guatemala, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, etc) can not financially care for themselves or another child and to place another child in their home could be absolutely devastating to them. Although most adoptive parents don’t adopt to save their children from a life of poverty and economic hardship…they do so to have children, don’t you think that welcoming a child into a family is better than asking relatives who can’t afford to help do so?

But, just my opinion…

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POSTED IN: Celebrity Adoptions, Charity