****Several days ago, VVAI became aware of an article in the Vietnamese press about a Vietnamese family actively seeking their daughter who was adopted at age 6 in 2007 from Tam Ky Child Protection Center in Quang Nam Province. According to the article, the child was awarded the opportunity to stay at the child protection center as a benefit to a daughter of a deceased soldier. The child moved to the center in June 2007, and was adopted in to the United States in October of 2007.The girl’s family had been assured that she would stay in the center and not be adopted.
The editors of VVAI have made efforts to contact the State Department, the US embassy in Hanoi and the adoption agencies that are still in operation that were processing adoptions out of Quang Nam province in 2007.
According to our records, the agencies that were operating in Quang Nam at that time are the following 6 agengices:
Carolina Adoption ServicesCommonwealth Adoption International
Hawaii International Child & Family Services, Inc
International Assistance and Adoption Project
Vietnamese Orphans Relief Fund
World Child International
The girl would be aged 12-14 years old at this time, and would have been adopted in the fall of 2007 from Quang Nam Province.
****Edited to add link to Vietnamese English Language article
4 Responses
Commonwealth was working in Quang Nam in ’07. I received a program update in July of ’07 that spoke of three children ready to be referred, one was a 5 year old girl from Quang Nam. I also have two photos sent with that update letter that show some of the children in the orphanage if that would be of help to someone.
See below:
“4) Commonwealth has foreseen the situation coming, and responded with necessary actions as early as the beginning of 2007. Our Vietnam associate has been working on collaborating with more orphanages in the provinces where Commonwealth is licensed. Attached is a couple of photos showing a new partner orphanage in Quang Nam Province. This orphanage’s operation is similar to the one of our original Quang Nam orphanage partner, a bit smaller (50 children capacity) but more specialized in the care of special needs children. A small proportion of the special needs children there have appropriate relinquishment paperwork, and we will try to look for adoptive families for them later on. The collaboration agreement is now in the final stage of getting the approval from the provincial People’s Committee. Our primary goal with this new partner is to get 2 to 3 regular infant referrals from this orphanage, in addition to those adoptable S/N children that they have there. We will be building a 20 X 40 sq. ft. room in their complex, for the purpose of housing adoptable children to be referred to CAI families. As with our other partner orphanages, they have committed to working with CAI only.
3) Quang Nam orphanage – During my trip to Quang Nam, I have seen a few kids that I met last year, totally adorable & cute faces. No adoption paperwork though. Quang Nam now has three referrals readily available, all adoption paperwork ready. A 9-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl. We are working with the waiting families list accordingly. There is also a 3-year-old boy and a newborn boy infant with cleft palate, whose relinquishment paperwork is being finalized. As I have mentioned before, the QN orphanage is more specialized in older children, but occasionally they also have infant relinquishment and abandonment. If families are open to an older child, or minor special needs child, please let your case manager be aware of that. “
There were at least two orphanages in Quang Nam in 2007; I couldn’t see in the article where it specified Tam Ky (the “baby” orphanage)? As I recall, different adoption agencies licensed in Quang Nam worked with each of the orphanages. It should actually be very, very simple for the State Department to locate a very small number of adoptions that fit this profile. I just wonder if they can and will.
Maire,
Tam Ky is mentioned by name in the original Vietnamese-language article, and was also specifically mentioned in the email we received.
That ought to make it even easier for DOS to help, then, assuming the law allows.