Frank's Freedom

Meet Frank. He’s 13 years old, and is curious, busy, fun happy and bright. He has a mental delay, but that doesn’t stop him from being friendly, engaging and kind. He’s also an orphan in Eastern Europe. This means he is in an institution. If he is not adopted by age 16, he will be thrown out on the street with nothing but the clothes on his back and his “disabled orphan” status. Let me tell you more about Frank.

He’s little, about the size of a 7 year old. And he’s smart. He is in a group with teenage boys ages 16-24. He does puzzles and he does his chores diligently. He is very kind to the younger children. Frank is friendly and engaging. He likes being with the boys, but is happy being alone too. He plays appropriately with toys and is “all boy”. He could very easily function in a family. Frank is curious, smart, fun and sweet. He likes to play in the dirt and jump on the trampoline. Frank is independent, a good eater, is happy and content. Frank is physically healthy. He walks, runs, feeds himself, speaks, does puzzles and interacts with others well. He's a sweet boy who seems rather unaffected by his surroundings. He has no future where he's at, and without help, he's never getting out. Institutions are a one way ticket to nowhere. And this little boy deserves a future. This little boy will be a blessing to any family.

The Baker family has committed to adopt Frank and another boy, Emmitt. But international adoption is pretty expensive. The adoption would cost about $30,000. Reece’s Rainbow is an organization that helps with this cost. They set up grants for children in 25 countries around the world, and any money that is donated to these funds is given to the families to help with adoption fees. With Reece's Rainbow's help, the Baker family only needs about $10,000 to bring home both boys!





Friday, November 16, 2012

Seven




Seven
He was only seven years old. Seven. What did you do when you were seven? You were probably in second grade. Expanding your reading, checking out library books for the first time. Were your days spent at school, then coming home to do homework, then play outside with your friends or family? Or maybe if you got your homework done early, you got to play a game on the computer or watch one of your favorite shows. 
But he didn't. He spent the days in a cold, dark room. Lying in a cold crib. Surrounded by the cries and moans of other children. Drugged so he was "easier to take care of". At seven years old, he weighed only 20 pounds. He wore diapers because he was left in the crib all day. He had no stimulation. No chance to walk, talk, or even move. 
He was transferred to the institution when he was four years old. He struggled on for three years, but by November of 2010, he couldn't do it anymore. 
He died on November 16, 2010. He was only seven years old. No one was there to witness it. The workers probably didn't notice until they went to feed him the next day. Then he was buried in an unmarked grave behind the mental institution he died in. 
Dakota was an orphan in Eastern Europe. He had hydrocephalus.  Most children have this corrected as an infant and go on to live a normal life. But he didn't. Because of having hydrocephalus, he was put into an adult mental institution. When he was only four years old. He went from being a normal functioning child to a frail shell of a child, who only weighed 20 pounds. He struggled to move, or even to breathe.
It's too late for Dakota. But it's not for some of the other children at his institution. Please save them before it's too late. Don't let them become a statistic. Don't let them be a nameless grave in back yard of the institution.


 



























All of those children are waiting for families in the institution where Dakota died. Please, let's not let them become a statistic. For Dakota.

1 comment:

  1. A hard post to read - but so important. Thank you for crying out for Dakota - and the so many more!

    ReplyDelete

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