A Little Goes a Long Way

I wasn't aware that when a person adopts, more often than none that they/we aren't just adopting our child. We adopt a whole orphanage full of babies, toddlers, teens, and nannies. We adopt babies that will soon be with their forever families and we adopt those that won't be adopted, that will call the orphanage their home. Our concern becomes for all orphans not just our son or daughter. It's inevitable...the heart swells when one adopts.

I belong to a Yahoo group that is comprised of all adoptive parents of children adopted from the same orphanage as where my child spent the first 6 months of her life. A few months ago, a father of a fellow "Bo" baby, started a fundraising campaign. Apparently, many months ago, he had read some things, including my blog post about the condition of the orphanage when my husband and I visited. The fact that it was so cold that we could literally see our breath, well, it chilled him and he wanted to do something about it. So he started a fundraising campaign to raise monies for water heaters to ensure that all Bo babies would have at least a warm bath. He put the call out to the group and in poured the monies. Within a week, the group raised $1000 through a special fund with Love Without Boundaries (LWB). LWB helped us communicate back and forth with the orphanage. Along with the donation, we sent a photo album that included pictures of all the families that had donated to the project. In the end here's what happened:

From the father who headed up the fundraising:
"they were able to get 8 water heaters. She has sent me some pictures of the heaters, the clothes and the snacks that they were able to purchase. You know, I think we all get it that what has been accomplished here is significant. But I don't really think that we will be able to fully grasp the total impact of this. We live such different lives than what is lived there. I have commented how hot water is an after thought for us but for them it is more than just a turn of a knob. I really believe that we have accomplished a lot. And I think we can accomplish a lot more. "

Letter from the orphanage workers:
"We have finished the babies' bathrooms. Sorry to you and the other families for the delay. There are lots of things to do every day, too busy. We sincerely apologize to you and the families. We are very happy to see the beautiful photos of the babies. The babies are all smiling. We appreciate everything you and the other families have done for us. We appreciate the love and concern from you and the families."