Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510020047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ten years ago, Edsel and Debbie Foley decided they wanted to adopt a child. Because the couple had been married less than three years, they had a difficult time finding an adoption agency that would help them.
The Rocky Mount couple contacted 24 different groups and agencies, but were either ignored or put on a five-year waiting list, they said.
Then they contacted a new adoption program through Catholic Charities of Southwest Virginia called Intercountry Adoption Program, or ICAP. Seven months later, they were in Washington, D.C., picking up their 6-month-old Korean son, Shawn, from the airport.
Shawn, now 11, accompanied his parents Saturday to ICAP's 10th anniversary party, held at Northview United Methodist Church in Roanoke.
Shawn was introduced as the first child to be adopted through the program.
About 150 children from South America, Central America, Korea, China, Thailand, India and Eastern Europe have been adopted through the program, said Marge Savage, director of adoptions for Catholic Charities of Southwest Virginia. Almost 40 of those children came to the anniversary party.
"It's just amazing when you see the diversity of children all over," said Frank Blankemeyer as he watched the children play together in the church's playground. Blankemeyer is a member of the Catholic Charities advising board.
The ages of the children ranged from 6 months to 11 years. Some were meeting the other kids for the first time; others already had made friends among the group. But all seemed to be having fun as they ate ice cream and cake and played games, including breaking a pinata.
The parents sat on picnic tables, watching the children and telling stories of their experiences going through the adoption process.
"You kind of have to believe in some kind of divine intervention, because these kids were definitely for us," said Claudia Resnick about her three children, Victoria, Ana and Eddie from Colombia.
Claudia and her husband, Ken, brought the trio of siblings to their Roanoke home in July, two years after they started the process.
"When you're in this process, you feel like there is this long tunnel with no end," Claudia Resnick said. "But I think everyone ends up being completely happy."
Resnick, originally from Rhode Island, was an adopted child herself.
"I get to see it from all perspectives," she said.
ICAP holds orientations for prospective adoptive parents and then puts each couple or single adult in a home study group, said Marge Savage, director of adoptions for Catholic Charities.
After the study, they may refer the prospective parents to an adoption agency in their country of choice.
Once a child is selected, the prospective parents then travel to that country to complete the adoption process.
"It gives you a chance to know how these kids feel when they come here," Resnick said.
When the Resnicks traveled to Colombia, they were told the country was unsafe and that they could be in danger.
"When you get your airplane tickets and you hear there is a travel advisory," it makes you hesitate, she said. "But you know that you have to go, because your kids are there."
Other parents said the trip also let them understand the culture their children were coming from.
Because of time constraints, John and Emily Swope had to make two trips to Colombia when they adopted Torre, now 3. He was 3 months old at the time.
"It's a very positive experience," Emily Swope said. "We want to take Torre back there."
The Foleys adopted Shawn before traveling to the child's country was a requirement, but they plan to visit Korea next summer to give both Shawn and themselves a feel for the culture.
Savage said international adoptions are less stringent and take less time than domestic adoptions, mainly because there is a greater need for adoptive parents.
Because of economic impacts in other countries, birth control and abortions are not as easily accessible as they are here, Savage said. And single parents face more stigma in some countries, encouraging more mothers to give their children up for adoption.
"It's a global thing. There are a lot of children in this world who need families," Swope said.
Catholic Charities in Southwest Virginia is in the process of merging with Catholic Charities in Richmond, Blankemeyer said.
"We hope to do even more after the merger," he said, adding that it will be a merger of resources.
by CNB