Outspoken and well spoken adoption advocate Susana Luarca has sent a letter to President Berger demanding that he stop the illegal action against Casa Quivira and reconsider the anti-adoption legislature the government seems to be leaning towards.

Susana reminds Berger that adoption is the only salvation for thousands of children in Guatemala who would suffer from malnutrition and disease and/or become street children if not adopted. She also asks him to turn down the twenty-eight... more

CNN World reported today that nine children from Casa Quivira have been hospitalized. Clifford Phillips, the owner of this adoption home, blames the deterioration of the children’s health on the shoddy care provided by the government workers who are not, according to him, providing appropriate nutrition, hygienic conditions or correct medications for the children.

Authorities from the Guatemalan welfare agency claim that the children from... more

Parents who have adopted from Guatemala often remain very involved in the welfare of children and families in Guatemala. It is not uncommon for them to go on mission trips or send funds to support a broad spectrum of charities. I’ve even heard of families who are helping their child’s birth family in Guatemala.

Yesterday I received an email from an adoptive mother who we’ll call “A,” who read about a sweet young baby in Guatemala named Jose on one of the web groups she belongs to. He is nine months old and if not adopted soon, he will be... more

If you haven’t heard yet, two infants from Casa Quivira were released to their adoptive parents after it was determined that their adoption was legal.

However, it has been reported (which doesn’t mean that it is true) that the remaining children are not receiving the right food and medical attention from the officials in charge. Guatemalan officials have denied... more

Dozens of adoption homes in Guatemala continue to be raided in mass searches for children taken illegally or forcefully from their parents. Prospective adoptive parents are frantically calling the U.S. Embassy trying to find out what is happening to their children.

There is little doubt that U.S. pressure to clean up the adoption process in Guatemala fueled these raids. Tragically, the use of force and armed policemen is probably terrorizing the children and employees of these homes. However equally... more

With Ella now a full blown toddler with a mind of her own, my life has changed considerably. Things don’t always get done in a timely fashion, and the simplest tasks are a challenge.

Let’s take yesterday as an example. With a pile of bills on the kitchen table needing attention, I put on a Baby Einstein DVD for Ella and dove in. However, yesterday Ella decided that she wasn’t interested in her DVD and whined and complained until I left the task at hand and played with her.

Let’s move on. We had to go to the grocery store and fill our sadly empty fridge. Ella no longer enjoys sitting in the grocery cart while we shop. She wants out and spends the entire shopping trip complaining... more

It is the most toxic and dangerous place in Central America. The stench is unbearable and the smell of methane gas is everywhere. It was also home to thousands of families who lived there for over sixty years. Welcome to Guatemala City’s garbage dump.

Until a short documentary film called "Recycled Life" was nominated for an Oscar, few people outside of Guatemala were even aware of the garbage dump community. Referred to as “guajeros,” the residents of the dump comb the trash... more

The media is going wild with the news that Guatemalan police raided Casa Quivira, an adoption home in Guatemala, claiming that the children were stolen or taken by force by their birth mothers. The lawyers that work with this home are adamant that the paper work for each child is in order, but that no one even looked at it.

I’ve been sorting through the various articles, and the titles vary from “Stolen Children Rescued from Guatemala Adoption Home” to... more

I met several wonderful couples and singles while I was adopting Ella. We may only make contact a few times a year, but they are in my thoughts a lot. When I receive emails with photos of their children, I usually shed a tear remembering what we all went through, and the relief I felt when everyone arrived home safe and sound.

With the exception of one couple, all are well into their second adoption and adopting from Guatemala again. Apparently it is a bit easier the second time round for most of them as they are familiar with the ups and... more

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) is implementing several changes to assist adoptive parents and save them money.

1. Adoptive parents can have one “no-charge extension of the approved Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (Form I-600A) if they have not already submitted a petition (Form I-600) to classify an orphan as an immediate relative.” Parents must request this in writing and make sure that the USCIS... more