July 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

11 Colombian children in Los Angeles for five week stay with a dream of finding adoptive families

July 2009 (Los Angeles, CA) …Kidsave International has desperate plea for 40 orphans from Colombia for communities around the country this summer with the goal of finding them permanent, adoptive families in the U.S. The orphans, ages 8– 13, have little or no chance of finding adoptive families in their own country. Through its Summer Miracles program, Kidsave is bringing these children to the U.S. for 5 weeks ending August 2nd, to experience American culture and enjoy family life with host families. During their stay, host families will get to know the children and advocate for their adoption by introducing them to families within their community.

The kids:

Leidy (age 17) is a sparkling, intelligent girl with innate leadership qualities. This joyful, extroverted young lady excels in school; her dearest desire is to attend college. Leidy always puts her siblings’ needs first, and never shows a trace of bitterness despite the challenges of abandonment and life in an institution.

Jennifer (age 15) is an outgoing, tender girl who is especially devoted to caring for her brothers, and the younger children in the orphanage. Jennifer is an outstanding dancer like her brother Alex, and she seems to be everybody’s best friend. Jennifer wants to study design when she graduates from high school.

Alex (age 14) is noble, polite and calm, and has an exceptional sense of humor. Alex has many interests such as painting, cooking, sports and dancing. At dancing events, adults stand back and watch Alex’s moves with delight and perhaps a touch of envy.

Diego (age 12) is exuberant and playful, and has a delightful sense of humor. Diego is a skater and devoted “futbolista” who lives for sports. Enthusiastic and natural, when Diego first saw the ocean, he ran into the water with fully clothed, dancing in circles until he fell down.

Andres is a sweet, spontaneous, respectful 13-year old boy with a playful sense of humor. He is intelligent, affectionate, enjoys conversation, and gets along well with his peers & adults. Andres is also very creative and artistic. He loves to draw and work with clay, and is interested in theatre arts. Andres also enjoys soccer, basketball and swimming.

Dumar is an intelligent, thoughtful 11-year old Colombian boy who enjoys swimming, soccer, baseball and bicycle rides.

Oscar is a happy, thoughtful 12-year old boy who loves life. He loves to be social and makes friends easy. Oscar loves to be active and participate in group games and activities. His interests include soccer, dancing and poetry. He is a good student who is particularly good at science and math and does not have any difficulty adapting to different situations. Oscar would like a family that will love and support him and will share his passion for life.

Santiago, age 10, is a quiet pensive boy who is initially shy but warms up quickly to those who express interest and kindness to him. His teachers report that he is very good at completing tasks and recognizes the rewards that come with hard work. Although he has had a little less exposure to school than many of his peers, he works hard and enjoys studying, especially reading and writing. Santiago loves outings, especially going to movies! His likes to play soccer and ride a bike. He is artistic and creative and loves to paint and work with clay. He dreams of having a family that will help him feel safe, protected and loved. Since arriving in Santa Monica, he has been living just like a local child. He is attending the SM YMCA, he's taking surf lessons, and a neighborhood bike store called Bike Attack has lent Santiago a bicycle to ride while he is here.

Yenne, is a happy and cheerful 11- year old girl. Although she is shy at first, Yenne loves to make friends and spend time with her classmates. Yenne is very creative and loves to tell stories –many created by her own imagination, and share them with her peers. Yene likes to be active and loves to dance. One of Yene’s favorite games is to role play—she loves to play a nurse! Yenne hopes that she will find a family this summer during her summer visit.

While nobody knows the exact number of orphans, it is estimated that more than 33 million children worldwide have lost their parents. Most of these children are overlooked for adoption simply because they are more than six years old. These “older” children are often stigmatized and discriminated against as people don’t believe they can or want to be adopted. Without a caring adult in their lives, they face a future that is very bleak, with many becoming homeless, falling victim to crime, or committing suicide shortly after they “age out” at 18 or 21 years of age and are forced leave the orphanage or foster care.

Founded in 1999, Kidsave works with communities worldwide to move older children out of government orphanages and foster care and into permanent loving families. Kidsave’s unique Family Visit Model combines best practices in social work and family recruiting to create caring, connected relationships for children without parents. Unlike most adoption agency models that focus on finding children for families, Kidsave’s model focuses on finding families for children.

The Summer Miracles program relies heavily on volunteers, with community organizers working diligently throughout the year to raise funds and recruit host families in preparation for the children arriving in summer. Once the children have arrived, host families and volunteers hold events and organize outings to engage the community in helping to find adoptive families for each child. Kidsave staff provides host families with extensive training and support leading up to the children’s arrival and during their stay. When a family decides to adopt, Kidsave works with the family and adoption agencies in the child’s home country to insure the adoption proceeds as easily as possible. Since its inception, 90% of the children who have visited the US as part of the Summer Miracles program have found families who have adopted them or are pursuing adoption.

The orphans participating in Summer Miracles 2009 will live with families in Los Angeles, CA; the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area; Atlanta, Georgia; the New York City metropolitan region (New Jersey, New York and Connecticut); and Austin, Texas.

If you are interested in learning about the orphans who need families, please visit www.kidsave.org or call 1-888-543-7283. To see a list of activities and events where you can meet the children staying in the Los Angeles please contact Elise Martinet.

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About Kidsave

Kidsave is about creating change for children the world has forgotten. Working with community and child welfare agencies, Kidsave helps find permanent, loving families for overlooked children residing in government orphanages and foster care. Kidsave uses a simple model for many of its programs – connecting orphans and foster children to families who host them in their homes for weekends and school breaks, advocate for their adoption, and make lasting connections for the children. Since 1999, Kidsave programs have provided more than 2,700 children with connections to stable adults and families. Kidsave is a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, visit www.kidsave.org