Vietnam Program Updates

Seven Children’s Hope families are currently traveling to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to meet their children and finalize their Vietnamese adoptions. We hope in early April there will be another large group of families traveling to Vietnam! Three families are now only awaiting their Giving & Receiving ceremony dates so they can also make their travel arrangements to unite with their children. In late February, four families also completed their adoptions in Vietnam and arrived home anew.

It is a great start to Vietnam’s New Year! Children’s Hope received 3 referrals for our families after Vietnam’s celebration of their national holiday: a 2-month-old girl and a 3-month-old boy, both from Kien Giang province, and a 6-month-old girl from the Tam Binh 2 orphanage. They are all adorable and we are so thrilled for the families. Congratulations to all the new families!

We are delighted to announce that in 2008 thus far, several Children’s Hope families have received referrals. One family was matched with 3 ½-month-old twin girls from Phu My orphanage in Ho Cho Minh City. The family is thrilled and couldn’t be happier! We are also happy to announce two brothers, 2 ½ and 4 ½ years old, were matched with their parents and a 3 ½-month-old little girl from Tam Binh 2 orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City with her family. Congratulations to you all! The next family to receive an infant girl has waited 19 months; for an infant boy, 17 months. We do expect these wait times to continue to increase in 2008.

Children’s Hope is delighted to report new referrals! This week a family received a referral for a 2-year-old girl from the Go Vap orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. Two referrals were received the week prior: a 4½-year-old girl from Tam Binh 2 orphanage and a 2½-year-old boy from the Go Vap orphanage, both in Ho Chi Minh City. And in mid-November, Children’s Hope received the referral of a 6-week-old boy, born with a cleft lip/palate, from the Kien Giang province. Congratulations to these families and this great news of Thanksgiving!

Referrals: In the past month, the Vietnam Team received eight referrals for Children’s Hope families. In the first week of November, two families received their first photos and medical updates on their child, one family for a referral of a 3 ½-month-old boy from Phu My orphanage and the second for a 2-year-old boy from Tam Binh 1 orphanage, both in Ho Chi Minh City. The families waited 15 months and 12 ½ months for their referrals.

Twenty-seven families welcomed our in country representative Thuy and a Vietnam delegation in St. Louis October 4. Each family came with a great spirit to meet and visit with several instrumental officials who made their Vietnam adoptions possible.

"Thank you for giving these children a better and happier life, with your love and your care," Le Thanh Tam, the Director of DOLISA, greeted the families.

The wait time to adopt a boy from Vietnam is continuing to increase slowly, as applications continue to rise. New applicants should expect to wait 18-24 months for their referral. For those currently in the process for their adoption, families are being matched for infant boys within 13 months; this wait will gradually increase. The wait for a girl continues to be 2+ years. Please remember these wait times are predictions and current patterns may change at any time.

Children’s Hope received a healthy 4-month-old male referral for a family today from Kien Giang orphanage! His family waited 13 months for their referral. Congratulations!

There are currently three families in Vietnam traveling; an additional three families will leave next week for their own Giving & Receiving ceremonies in Vietnam which will complete their international adoption. 

The Vietnam team is happy to announce three new referrals the first week of August. The first was for a family who adopting a healthy 14-month-old boy and the other referrals were for the Children’s Hope Waiting Child list: 3-year-old and 4-year-old boys. We expect to receive more referrals this month. There is a chance for some infant referrals soon but some are still too young to be taken for their medical check-ups.

Children’s Hope received a healthy 4-month-old male referral for a family today from Kien Giang orphanage! His family waited 13 months for their referral. Congratulations!

There are currently three families in Vietnam traveling; an additional three families will leave next week for their own Giving & Receiving ceremonies in Vietnam which will complete their international adoption.

 

Children’s Hope families who adopted from Vietnam attended a reception at Children’s Hope for two top adoption officials from Vietnam on July 19. Dr. Vu Duc Long, the Director of DIA (Department of International Adoption) and Mr. Dang Minh Dao, legal expert for the DIA, made Children’s Hope their first stop in a visit to the United States. The 25 families showed off their children adopted from Vietnam and heard the two men speak glowingly about the Children’s Hope Vietnam adoption program.

Referrals: In the last two weeks, Children’s Hope shared in the happy news of three healthy referrals and the placement of two waiting children. The referrals were for a 13-month-old male, a 3-month-old infant girl, and a 4-year-old boy—all from the TB1 orphanage in HCMC. We placed two waiting children—a 20-month-old boy and a 17-month-old girl, both also from the TB1 orphanage.

The first week of May was Mother’s Day and Father’s Day all wrapped up in one for seven families who held their child for the first time shortly after arriving in Vietnam. Once their entire Vietnam adoption process is complete, all seven new families will travel home shortly after the official day (Sunday, May 13) set aside to honor moms.

Children's Hope is happy to announce the referral of a 3-month-old infant boy from GoVap orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City. Congratulations to the family! We do expect more referrals in the next few weeks. Several children are having or have had their medicals and blood tests but we are just waiting on the results.

This week we received two referrals of boys and one new waiting child. The waiting child has already been posted on CHIfamily.net. She is 2 years old and HIV and Hepatitis C positive. The boys were 15 months and 3 years old respectively and both from HCMC orphanages (TB2 and GoVap). The family referred the 15-month-old waited 7 months; the family referred the 3-year-old, 3 months. Congratulations to the new families!

We are starting out March with six families who are flying into Hanoi this week to complete their international adoption. We hope to receive more referrals soon. Currently, 40 families matched with children are waiting to travel.

February was a great month for Vietnam adoption. In the middle of February, we received two healthy referrals and six waiting children were placed. The healthy referrals were an infant boy and an infant girl (8-months and 6-months), both from Tam Binh 1 orphanage in HCMC. The family adopting the girl waited eleven months; the family adopting the little boy, eight months. A total of 13 orphans were placed in February. Congratulations to all the families who received referrals in February!

One happy couple was thrilled to share their Valentine’s Day with a third wheel—their Vietnam referral! The family’s referral is for a Vietnam adoption of a 6-month-old girl from the Ho Chi Minh Province. Vietnam has had six referrals so far this month from three different orphanages: Tam Binh1, Picasso in HCMC, and Kien Giang. The five earlier referrals were for three boys and two girls ranging in age from six weeks to two years old. Congratulations to all the families that received referrals!

At the beginning of this month, six families learned of their travel approval and scrambled to obtain visas, plane tickets, and pack for HCMC to adopt from various orphanages. Three other families arrived in Vietnam to adopt on January 19. We do not expect any more families to travel before the Tet holiday on February 17, 2007. Congratulations to our traveling families!