Women's Day

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Russian Tea Cookies

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• March 8th is Women's Day, one of the greatest holidays of the year!
  
• Reminder during tax time: Take advantage of the adoption tax credit.
  

Program Update

Welcome Spring on March 20th, after a very mild winter in the DC area. Shortly after September 11th, we noticed a steep decrease in the number of families preparing to adopt from Russia. As a result, current wait times are shorter than usual. Fortunately, traveling families are not experiencing any significant obstacles as a result of the attacks, and slowly the numbers of adopting families are rising back to normal.
      Both the Moscow program and the Frank program are working in regions that are requiring two trips to complete the adoption. At present, each program does still work in regions that only require one trip. However, the Moscow program seems to be working in a greater number of regions with this option. We cannot guarantee that this will remain an option, and if you wish to wait for a child only from one of these regions, your wait time will likely increase. If you must travel twice, most regions will allow you to hire a doctor to accompany you. We can provide you with the names of several westerntrained physicians who reside in Moscow. You must contact the doctor prior to travel, to arrange for the doctor to meet you at the orphanage. Our coordinators can help plan the meeting. The fees of each doctor vary. We are always looking to expand the list of doctors, so please contact us if you hear of one.

    
      Overall, no significant changes have taken place in the process in the last two months. Approximately 13 families have come home with children in January and February.

Please join us on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 from ten o'clock a.m. until noon for a cup of Russian tea and a short story. You are welcome to bring your children, and please join us if you are still waiting for your child or if you are just considering adoption.

R.S.V.P. by Monday, April 15th, five o'clock EST at (703) 536-8523, or email nbaker@worldchild.com.
      We look forward to seeing you at 113 Park Avenue in our Falls Church, Virginia office.

March 8th -- Women's Day

The 8th of March is a great holiday for all women in Russia, Ukraine and other republics of the Former Soviet Union. It is called "International Women's Day" -- the first Spring holiday of the year, and full of flowers, smiles, gifts and love for all women.
      International Women's Day was first publicly celebrated in 1911, but the history of the day has an even earlier beginning:
      On March 8, 1857, American women demonstrated against low wages and poor working conditions. Many of the women were arrested, while others were trampled to death by the crowds. Fifty-one years later, on March 8, 1908, thousands marched to commemorate the 1857 demonstrations, and to condemn child labor and poor working conditions, and to demand a woman's right to vote. This day was marked as the first National Women's Day in the United States.
      On July 18, 1889, Clara Zetkin delivered her first speech on behalf of women in Paris. She advocated women's rights, including women's participation in national and international events. Zetkin called for women to hold anti-war demonstrations on International Women's Day in 1914. She became a Communist after the First World War and encouraged Lenin to establish International Women's Day as a holiday. The Socialist celebration became an official Communist holiday, and as a result, many women in non-Communist countries stopped observing it.
      International Women's Day was first celebrated in Russia in 1913 with a rally in St. Petersburg, despite police brutality. Russian women were led by Alexandra Kollontai, and followed the American tradition of a march on the last Sunday of February. The most famous Women's Day celebration was in 1917, when the march in St. Petersburg sparked Russia's February Revolution, ultimately overthrowing the Russian monarchy. The march was held on February 23rd, according to the Julian calendar. When the calendar was changed to the western Georgian calendar in 1918, the date fell on March 8. The event became an annual celebration in Russia. Women gave each other red roses and cards, and it was declared a National Holiday.

      In 1977, International Women's Day of March 8th was given official recognition by the United Nations, and other countries were invited to designate this day as a U.N. Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.
      Today in Russia, the 8th of March is a widely celebrated National Holiday, and offices are typically closed. The holiday is celebrated absolutely everywhere throughout Russia, in all offices, universities, schools, even in kindergartens.
      Russian women begin to receive gifts and flowers on the first days of March, from those who will not have the chance to see them on the 8th. On the 7th, concerts and other celebrations are held, young boys congratulate girls in schools, and give them drawings, crafts or other gifts. Parents and students congratulate female teachers. On the 8th of March, women receive flowers, gifts and favors from the men in their lives. Typically, husbands will cook for their wives. Men throughout the streets of Russia are seen carrying bouquets all day long.
      In Russia, there is a real sisterhood between women. Women can be seen walking arm-in-arm. Older women look out for younger women. Women share a special bond. The 8th of March is truly one of the greatest holidays, when women's contributions, great and small, are celebrated in the home, in the office, in the schools, and on an international level.

     Sharing a cup of tea with family and friends is an important Russian tradition. You can begin your own family tradition, and enjoy Russian Tea Cookies along with your Chai ("chai" pronounced "chi" is the word for "tea").

   INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter, softened
  
  
• 1 cup flour
  
  
• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
  
  
• 1 tbsp. Water
  
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
  
  
• 1 1/4 cups flour
  
  
• 3/4 cups chopped nuts
  

When you have received your INS clearance (either form I-171H or 797C, depending upon your state), you will notice that the clearance indicates that your approval has beensent to Moscow, Russia. We suggest you double-check to make sure that the clearance is sitting at the US Embassy in Moscow, waiting for your arrival. The best way to do this is via email.

There are several e-mail addresses you may try, and unfortunately you may have to try a few before you get a response. Responses should come within 48 hours. If they do not, you may call the Embassy as a last resort between noon and 3 pm Russian time (4 am to 7 am EST) at 011-7-095-728-5058 (direct line) or 728-5000, extension 5804. You ma also fax the Embassy at 011-7-095-728-5247.

Written correspondence should be addressed to the "Adoption Unit". Any written confirmation they send you should be hand carried to Russia. The following are the U.S. Embassy e-mail addresses:
ConsularM1@state.gov
Moscowconsularr@state.gov
Consulmo@state.gov
ConsularM4@state.gov

Using the internet can be a fascinating and educational experience. A listserv is a subscriber list of e-mail addresses that allows you, as a subscriber, to "post" (e-mail to many) a question or comment to all subscribers with one e-mail. Listservs are easy to use, are organized by topic, have an administrator to oversee the postings, and often are free although some may carry a small fee. The same precautions concerning privacy and security associated with the internet in general should be adhered to while using a listserv. In order to subscribe to a listserv, you may have to go through a website or you may have to contact the list administrator.

Yahoo listservs:

Go to website http://groups.yahoo.com/group/

And then add

"borovichikids" for Borovichi

"chelyabinskadopt" for Chelyabinsk

"kashin" for Kashin/Tver

"kirov" for Kirov

"KrasnodarAdoption" for Krasnodar

"PermAdoption" for Perm

"Rostov_on_Don" for Rostov

"SamaraKids" for Samara

For example:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kirov for Kirov

Or e-mail jkjgoldbert@comcast.net for Novoshakhtinsk.

Everyone seems to come to the world of adoption from a different path. Mine began about eleven years ago. I was studying Russian language in college, and came across a flyer asking for applicants for the first orphanage volunteer program for Americans. I had always enjoyed being around children, and thought this would be a great way to improve my Russian. To apply, I had to put together a program that I would conduct with the children for the summer. I applied with an arts and crafts program, and was accepted. I received my notification that I would be working in an orphanage in Ukraine, along the Black Sea (at the time, Ukraine and Russia still belonged to the Soviet Union). The children were ages three to twelve.
      My experience was profound. I have always been the kind of person who needs for things to be fair and somewhat logical. The logic of adoption struck me -- it's rare in life that something makes such perfect sense, but to me, this did. A child needs a family: A family wants a child. Pretty simple. There was no question to me that I wanted to make adoption a part of my life.
      So here I am, eleven years later. I have been helping children find their new families for about five years now. And still, it seems so logical. I have seen, time and again, what seems to me to be proof that the union of child and parent in adoption is "meant to be", I guess you can call it "fate". I have worked with so many families who have experienced a delay, or a setback, and still are united with the child who simply seemed meant to be a part of the family. If not for the delay, or special circumstance, it would not have been this child -- I hear it often, not just when there is a delay.

      So many of you tell me that you can't imagine any other child, or that it feels like the child has been in your life forever. How could I not have begun to believe, then, that sometimes, it seems these children really were born to be with their adoptive families. I may not be what you would typically refer to as a very religious person, but sometimes I feel as though God has placed a child into our world specifically for a certain family, and I am fortunate to experience the joy of watching that union happen.
      About six months ago, my belief was put to the test. I had received information on two beautiful baby boys, and I had to assign them to two families who had been waiting for children for approximately the same amount of time. My first reaction was that one of the babies looked just like one of the waiting fathers. I don't usually emphasize physical similarity, but this was striking. I called Nancy over to look at the file, and she noticed that the child's birthday was the same as the waiting father's. Match made, this was an easy one. The waiting parents, Mike and Patty, accepted the child almost immediately. And again, I just had the feeling that this had already been planned. Everything was moving along perfectly. Until the day before Mike and Patty were scheduled to leave for Russia.
      I received a phone call from the coordinator, informing me that the baby's birthmother had returned and was opposing the adoption. There was a 90% chance the birthmother would not allow the adoption to proceed. I was told to inform the family that they could still go to Russia the next day to adopt another little boy. I remember being absolutely stricken by the unfairness. Why would this child, who seemed so obviously meant to be part of this family, be given to Mike and Patty just to be taken away?

      It didn't make any sense, and it seemed cruel. I think we all have moments in life when we question God's existence, or his purpose or intentions, and this was one of those moments for me. I remember laying in bed that night, questioning the meaning of this event. Mike and Patty decided to take a leap of faith, and the next day, Saturday, they left for Russia knowing they would come home with a child, but not knowing which one.
      I would not find out until Monday that Mike and Patty had arrived in Russia as planned, and were told that they would be returning home with the "original Kyle" (as Mike later put it), the baby that they were originally referred. It was the maternal grandmother who had tried to intervene in the adoption, and after some thought she decided not to interfere. Kyle would join his new parents after all.
      Every now and again, my belief is tested. Still, I can't help but think that the way in which a child joins a family through adoption is just as divine and mysterious as through birth.
      I was recently able to meet little Kyle in person, and I think he agrees with me. He found the Mom and Dad he was meant to have all along, and he seems to be loving every minute of it!

REMINDER: Please consider sharing personal anecdotes, adoption experiences, or other information to be included in future issues of this newsletter. You can submit your thoughts and ideas to Nancy Baker at nbaker@worldchild.com or call (703) 536-8523.

We hope to provide you with the Russian newsletter on a regular basis. If you would like to continue receiving the newsletter, but have a new, different or more convenient e-mail address, please reply to nbaker@worldchild.com and let Nancy know. However, if you would prefer not to receive this e-mail newsletter, please e-mail Nancy at the address above and your name will be removed from the newsletter mailing list.