General News
Couples seeking babies can turn to this place
ORPHANCARE works with the government to expedite the adoption process.
The non-profit non-governmental organisation helps to match and place abandoned and orphaned babies with suitable parents. "With Orphancare, everything is above board. We realise there is a disturbingly high number of orphans and unwanted babies placed in orphanages which is surprising considering that there are many couples who wish to adopt.
"For us, every child needs a family," says its president Datuk Adnan Mohd Tahir.
Currently, the organisation, which was set up two years ago, has 150 couples on its waiting list.
"We have so many couples looking to adopt children. We work well with government-run homes and would like to do the same with the private ones.
"However, we have noticed that there are private homes that hoard children because the more children they have, the more allocation they get from the government. For every child at the home, the government gives RM270 a month. For some people, running an orphanage or a home is a small business," says Adnan.
Some homes have at least 40 to 50 children.
"We are keen to work with private homes. We can assure them that we will be able to get couples from good backgrounds and sound financial standing to adopt the children.
"Some children in government and private homes have a lot of psychological problems. They fall ill easily because they are hungry for love," says Adnan.
He says some of the homes are overcrowded and caregivers are not properly trained to look after children.
"When these children reach 18 years of age, they leave the orphanages but find it difficult out there without a family support system.
"They should have instead been sent to loving homes.
"We must endeavour to give them a good start in life."
There are also couples who approach Orphancare for help to adopt, not infants, but older children.
Recently, the organisation helped a 12-year-old Malay girl find adoptive parents. A disabled Chinese girl was also adopted by a Mexican family residing in Malaysia.
Additional Information
Country: Malaysia
Website: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/00jual5-2-2/Article/index_html
Email: N/A
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Source: Mail from: TSUCHIYA Michiko
When: 16/2/2010
