“It is easier to build a child than to fix an adult”

The Society for Orphaned Children in Canada

Irina is my middle name—it is my memoir written by myself about myself as the little girl—there is no adult interpretation—it is as the child re-lives it.

 

Fear was the over-riding emotion; fear of further abandonment.  Also feelings of worthlessness

and not belonging .  Children are loving and absorb whatever happens to them—they fault

themselves and with that comes guilt.  Those are very typical feelings.

 

Abandonment shatters the child’s belief system – its core beliefs relating to safety, self worth, trust, sense

of belonging, and sense of control.  And with each additional experience of loss – the child’s capacity to trust

and develop attachments diminishes.  This is the same in any country – there are no differences.

Frequently Asked Questions

* If you don't’ measure it—you can’t manage it.  Our federal government has no statistics on our children.

* The Canadian system favours support of foster care rather than supporting adoptions.

 

* Foster Care has become an easy option while adoptive parents get no support. 

* Regulations for adoptions of Canadian children lie stagnant and fraught with red tape.

 

 

“Why is it so difficult to adopt children here in Canada?  My wife and I are successful, live in a good neighbourhood and we would like a child very much.”

“Why do people think we are more ‘damaged goods’ than overseas?”

What challenges did you face as an orphan?

Who is Irina in your book?

There are 88,000 children in foster care; 22,000 are actively waiting for adoption.  Every year the numbers increase and every year the number of adoptions decrease.  Actually I believe the numbers are higher because there are over 30,423 children in Ontario and similar numbers in Alberta—that’s 61,000 in only two out of ten provinces.

How many orphans are there in Canada?

To contact us:

orphan-book@pobox.com