WOW Kids
Hi there, my name is George. I am almost 5 years old and have cerebral palsy. I am one determined little guy! I was sent to a rehabilitation center right before my 2nd birthday. Upon entering the facility, I could not hold things, sit up on my own, or speak though I could understand what I was told. Now, I can stand and walk with support, sit up on my own, and my hand coordination is perfect! I eat on my own, wash on my own, and love to participate in activities. In 2013, I was sent to live with a foster family but insisted on continue my training! I am speaking in simple sentences and love reading. I also love animal and car toys! My favorite times of the day are bath time and dinner time because I love to stay clean and to eat. I am a very outgoing little man who is hoping to find my forever family!
Hey! My name is Cy and I am 2 years old. My doctor tells me that I have something called PKU. This means I need special formula and have to have my diet monitored by my caregivers at the orphanage. Other than that I am an active little boy who likes to move around! I am good at following directions and am speaking using simple words. I am able to run and jump just like other children my age. I love playing with blocks and laughing. Hopefully my friends at Great Wall can help me find my forever family!
Hey there! My name is Miller and I am 4 years old. My doctor tells me that I have scoliosis and clubbed feet. I also have an inguinal hernia. Otherwise I am an active and talkative little guy who loves music and to play games with my friends. I am able to walk if holding onto something or someone. I get along well with others. I love to eat and my favorite food is bread! Hopefully my friends at Great Wall can help me find my forever family soon!
Hello! My name is Tad and I am 3 years old. I have cerebral palsy, but I don’t let it keep me down! I am receiving rehabilitation training to help me grow stronger. I love to play with toys and with my friends at the orphanage. My file says that I can’t sit up, but look at my photo I can stand! My friends at Great Wall are working on getting some current information on me. I hope to find my forever family soon!
Hi! My name is Colette and I am 7 years old. I had surgery to repair my spinal meningocele and my hydrocephalus. I received training to strengthen my lower limbs after my surgery, however I am not able to stand or walk on my own. I love riding around in my wheelchair though 🙂 I am an active and clever young lady. I am in school and love to sing songs and recite poetry with my friends. I even know some English! I love listening to music and can even play the piano. Hopefully, I can find my forever family soon!
Orphan Hosting Registration is Now Available!
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After matching many orphans with their forever family through our Winter Hosting program, we are excited to announce the start of our VIP registration for Summer Hosting!
 Our team will be traveling to China next week to meet personally with our host children. Our goal is to get to know the kids and better understand their needs so we can find them them the perfect forever family. By participating in our VIP registration, your family will be among the first who are able to review the information from these interviews.
To take part in our Summer Hosting program, contact our Host Program Coordinator today. The photo listing of children will be available to VIP families for priority matching February 11th. For all other interested families the list will be available at a later date. To become a ‘VIP’ family, you must be one of the first 40 families to apply on or before February 10th.
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VIP Registration Includes:
– Priority Matching – Exclusive early viewing of child list -Waived adoption application fee – Tax deductible fees Contact our Host Program Coordinator today to learn more, or APPLY NOW!
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Hosting Children Need Forever Families
Some of our host families are eagerly advocating for their precious host children. The children return home to China January 12th and we are hoping that by January 31st adoption paperwork will have begun for all 25 children.
The following kiddos are hoping to find their forever family. If you would like to learn more about them please contact our Matching Team, you can also visit our photolisting for more information. The families are happy to share with you their experience and more videos and photos.
Meet Cody
“Cody is a very happy and affectionate little boy. He loves music, singing and dogs. He has cerebral palsy but he does not let that stop him. Both feet are turned inward which makes walking unsteady at times but the pediatrician thinks he would do very well with surgery to straighten them. When he falls he gets right back up and is as happy getting up as he was falling down! At the park he is determined to do everything all the other kids do. We took Cody to our son’s swim lesson and he started to cry. We were stunned this happy little guy was crying. It turned out that he had never been swimming before and wanted to swim! He has had 2 lessons and just squeals with delight when he’s in the water. He gets along well with children of all ages though falls behind with the rough & tumble kids due to his unsteady gait. He is picking up English quickly. He counts and says the alphabet in English and is able to express his needs. He is not a picky eater and is willing to try most everything. He is independent with feeding and toileting but needs some help with bathing due to safety concerns and is learning to do a better job brushing his teeth. This little lovebug would thrive in a family.” – Cody’s Host Mom
Meet Josiah
Josiah is precious. He just turned 9 years old in December 2014. He LOVES being in a family and truly needs and deserves a Forever Family. Your heart will be warmed by his smile. At the age of 2, he had life-saving heart surgery and has done amazingly well since then. You will be impressed to hear him sing his ABC’s, Christmas songs, count to 29, and wholeheartedly dive into the English language with you and others while smiling the whole time. Also, he can say “today is Friday, yesterday was Thursday, tomorrow will be Saturday.” He is appreciative of the smallest of gifts. Of course, being 9, he exhibits the usual stubbornness, sometimes, by pretending he did not hear what was asked of him, but then he will say, “okay.” His host family in the USA has a small dog, and Josiah walked right up to it as if it had been his pet forever. He expresses love easily. He loves eating pineapple, bananas, rice, chicken, pizza, and will let you know when he is “hungry.” And you will smile, too, when you hear him say “so-o-o g-o-o-d. Thank you, Mommy.” -Josiah’s Host Mom
Meet Jon-Jon
‘Jon Jon Has the sweetest little smile. In his smiles you can see he just wants to be loved. He is 5 years old on paper but developmentally he appears to be more like a 3 year old. He is very smart. He loves to be held and cuddle. He loves riding around town in the stroller and playing with toys that make a lot of noise. He had corrective heart and palate surgery as a baby but is all fixed now. He seems very healthy and would thrive in a family. He has the sweetest little voice. He loves to color, run outside and be held. He really needs a mama that will dote over him and give him lots of love and attention. He wants to know you will keep him safe. Since he is more like a 3 year old emotionally he does have some typical toddler behaviors such as minor tantrums but it is nothing more then I had with my bio son when he was that age. He has one minor special need that doesn’t effect his daily life, Hypospadias.’ -Jon Jon’s Host Mom
Meet Matthew
Matthew is a sweet boy who is very shy when he first meets people. He is smart and has been showing us how he can count in English. He has learned the word ‘hungry’ and we aren’t sure where he is putting all the food. He gets along great with our other children who are both younger and older than Matthew. He is very helpful around the house and we believe he lives in foster care which explains why he functions so well in the household. He noticed we hadn’t put the ketchup away after dinner and he picked it up and put it exactly where it was supposed to go in the refrigerator. He does have a hard time transitioning away from something he likes doing, like Wii Nascar is his favorite! But he will cooperate with very little coaxing. Matthew’s legs are somewhat ‘floppy’ for lack of a better word from his CP but that does not seem to slow him down one bit. My husband does help him in and out of the bathtub just to be on the safe side but he is very independent and does not really like help too much. Matthew is just a great kid that will make a wonderful addition to a family.
Read MoreChina Host Kids Are Here!
Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the 25 children from China made it safely to the U.S. for our Holiday Hosting Program. They are all safe and sound with their host families and we can’t wait to hear stories, see photos and help all of these children find forever families.
Look at some of the photos from our airport arrivals!
CCCWA Releases New Eligibility Updates
The China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption released an announcement stating that they will be making some changes regarding family eligbiltiy beginning January 1, 2015. The changes are to ‘better help children in need find suitable families and improve the quality of management and service.’ GWCA is excited for these changes and the impact they will make on our current and future families. We look forward to working closely with the CCCWA in their efforts to help more orphans find their forever families. Below are the main changes made by the CCCWA. (Please note the following information only reflects the new changes, all other requirements have not changed.)
Eligibility Requirement Updates
Single parent families are now eligible to adopt what is considered an ‘LID’ child or a child that is not listed as special focus. are eligible to adopt either a non-special focus child or a special focus child. Single applicants may submit a dossier to China prior to being matched with a child. There must be no more than a 45 year age difference between the age of the parent and the age of the child.
Singles may have no more than 2 children in the home, and the youngest child should be older than 5 years old. Singles cannot adopt if there are already 3 children in their home under the age of 18.
Singles and couples over the age of 50 are now eligible to adopt either a non-special focus(LID) or a special focus child and can submit their dossier to China prior to being matched. There may be no more than a 50 year age difference between the age of the younger parent and the age of the child.
Couples with more than 5 children living in the home are now eligible to adopt either a non special focus(LID) or a special focus child and can submit their dossier to China prior to being matched.
Families must be free of medical conditions that affect their life expectancy or parenting ability to be eligible for an adoption from China. According to the CCCWA, the following conditions could make a family ineligible: intellectual disability, positive for HIV or other contagious infectious disease, schizophrenia, blindness, poor vision in both eyes, non-function or dysfunction of limbs, incomplete or deformed limbs, severe facial deformity, and Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater.
Mental disorders, such as mania, anxiety, phobia, depression, obsession, etc. will make a family ineligible for adoption, except in the case of a couple if the disorder is minor and well controlled by medication.
Diseases that require long-term treatment and affect parenting ability will make a family ineligible, except in the case where one parent is completely healthy and the other parent’s condition is well controlled after treatment. According to the CCCWA, the following conditions fall into this category: malignant tumors, lupus, nephrosis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, an organ transplant within the last ten years, etc.
Parents with severe hearing loss/deafness or loss of language function may adopt a child with the same condition.
In an adoption by a couple, if one parent is completely healthy and the other parent has one of these conditions, the family will be eligible to adopt.
GWCA encourages families that do not meet all of the China requirements to still reach out to our International Adoption Consultants, we can always try for your family and the possibility of exceptions are sometimes available.
The CCCWA requires that families have a minimum income of $30,000 plus $10,000 per child living in the home (including the prospective adoptee). Minimum net worth for couples is $80,000. Minimum net worth for singles is $100,000. However, if a family lives in an area where the local cost of living is lower and they have above average income for their area, an exception to these income requirements may be made.
The following crimes on a background check will make a family ineligible for an adoption from China: history of domestic violence, sex abuse, or abuse/abandonment of children; drug use including opium, morphine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc; and history of alcohol abuse less than ten years old. If the parents have 3 or fewer minor criminal records more than ten years ago or five or fewer traffic violations with no severe outcomes, they may be eligible to adopt from China.
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Back Up Host Family – We Need YOU!
Are you interested in hosting a child from China or Philippines, but not quite ready to take the full plunge into being a full time host family for 4 weeks? If so, consider participating as a Backup Host Family to gain valuable experiences and opportunities with host children who may need to be relocated from their primary host families. These host children may need to be moved on a rare occasion for several possible reasons, but ultimately they need a safe, encouraging environment while they are here.
Here are five great reasons to be a Backup Host Family:
1) All hosting fees for the Host Child placed with your family are already paid in full by the Primary Host Family (excluding potential travel expenses to pick up child and expenses during the child’s stay with your family)
2) All necessary paperwork and action items for you to qualify as a host family will already be accomplished, so if you enjoy your experience, signing up to be a Primary Host Family the next go around will be simple and easy
3) You can always discuss the child’s habits, likes, dislikes, and learn more about the child from the first-hand experience of the Primary Family before you bring the child into your home.
4) You will receive full file disclosure from the country (medical history, personal interviews, etc) on the Host Child staying in your home
5) If you are asked to take over as a Backup Host Family, you will have access to a Program Mentor, Program Coordinator, and Translator to support you full time during the program.
Backup Host Families are needed in cases in which the Host Child can no longer stay with the Primary Host Family. Often, these are through no fault of the child and may simply be due to an unforeseen emergency within the Primary Host Family. There will be a transparent line of communication with Backup Host Families about any issues the child may experiencing that might have cause the need for a move. You can let us know, for any reason, that you will not be able to serve as the Backup Host Family for a particular child after we contact you.
The children from both China and Philippines are accompanied by Chaperones from their orphanages or social workers from the Chinese/Filipino Governments to the United States, and the Chaperone will check in with the child during his or her stay with your family. You are always supported as a backup host family.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact april@childrenofallnations.com or call April at 512-323-9595 x3061.
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Oh Boy! The Joy of Boys!
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Forty percent of our adoptions from China in 2013 were little boys. We have come a long way to bring these little guys home. However most people don’t realize how many boys are actually waiting. There are over 1200 boys waiting to find their forever families. It is not uncommon for the little boys to be overlooked, it is sad to think that just because they are born a boy it is more unlikely that they will find a forever family than if they were a girl. Many of these boys have very minor needs and may be just a little bit older. It’s a common misconception that there are only girls waiting in China but that idea is far from true. Team T-Shirts Now Available
Join our TEAM and contribute to our upcoming host programs. All proceeds acquired from these t-shirts will go toward hosting grants for the Summer 2015 program. These shirts will be worn by all of our hosting kids as they arrive to meet their host families for the 2014 Holiday Program. We ask that all family members and friends that will be meeting these children at the airport purchase a shirt. The shirts are available to order AGAIN for a VERY limited time. Please place your order by November 18th. They are $20, which includes shipping. Send this link to your friends and families and make a difference in a child’s life by joining our TEAM today!
Do you know what TEAM stands for?
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The Best of the China Holiday Hosting Class of 2014
Best Smile: C14-04 This little guy can’t wait to learn English and become a strong swimmer. He has lots of friends and has the biggest kool-aid smile of the bunch.
Limited Time – Hosting Grants – Donate Now
Are you looking to help an orphan but not sure how? There are so many children hoping to visit America for the holidays. All these kids need is a little extra help to get here. Your donation could help bring one of the kids home forever.
Donate here and note which of the following children your donation is for in the ‘in honor of’ field.
https://www.gwca.org/general-donation-form/
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