FacePalm Friday
Welcome to this week’s edition of FacePalm Friday.
This is where your hosts will list their top picks for this week’s FacePalm moment—something they learned or read about this week that caused the FacePalm to happen (you know, the expression of embarrassment, frustration, disbelief, shock, disgust or mixed humor as depicted in our Rally FacePalm smiley).
We invite you to add your FacePalm of the week to our comments. Go ahead and add a link, tell a personal story, or share something that triggered the FacePalm on the subject of child welfare or adoption.
(1) Haitian Girl’s Adoption Depends on Etch-a-Sketch [12/5/11]starting with the title of the article and the concept that this is the only hope for this infant who was referred.
The article gives the wrong URL for the family website. It really is http://overthebrim-thieszen.blogspot.com/. There you will find that they are Lifelink clients with the Rivers of Hope orphanage and many more facepalms starting with this October 18, 2011 entry http://overthebrim-thieszen.blogspot.com/2011/10/courageous-father.html “The mother DID come to the meeting yesterday, but instead of bringing her 30 month old daughter with her, she brought news that the father decided he did not want to put his daughter up for adoption and never see her again. So, with that email, we know this little brown-faced sweety was not our Nora. Rachel said in the email she was glad this happened now instead of a ways into the process and I couldn’t agree with her more. I’d rather have my heart not be attached at all really than to be attached and then ripped apart later.
I won’t lie, the news was incredibly disappointing because we were really wanting this to be our match and for our process to continue to move forward. It seemed the timing was so “right”. We have our paperwork in Haiti. We have enough money for the first payment. We were fine with the age of the little girl. But, alas, our timing is not the Lord’s, and we trust Him enough to know what, or in this case who, is best for us. That disappointment in my heart, however, was also matched.”
Why was a mother needing to bring a child to a meeting? Aren’t parentless children supposed to be languishing in the orphanage? This does not sound like the case.
Then this November 13 entry shows a PHOTO of the mother giving the child to the orphanage http://overthebrim-thieszen.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-11-14T12:02:00-05:00&max-results=7 
And then in a post on December 3 http://overthebrim-thieszen.blogspot.com/2011/12/luggage-of-love.html, two days PRIOR to the fundraising article, it shows that the child has not even been relinquished yet! 
“”UGH! The 1-2 year process does not start until we are officially matched to Nora in IBESR (the Haitian Social Services). In order for that to happen, Rachel has to have all the paperwork done on Nora and then send it in with our paperwork (which has been on her desk since September). She emailed me this week and let me know Nora’s birthmom did go with Rachel on Monday to relinquish her rights before the judge. This is a step in the right direction! We are eager to hear more of just how long she thinks it will take to gather everything else she needs to finish Nora’s paperwork. It’s just a matter of time, though, and we’ll be underway…it’s a LONG, HARD journey, but I’m grateful we will have this beautiful, dearly loved addition to our family in the end.”
(2) Adopting to “fill the void”
That is how Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics put it in his talk here
(3) UNICEF card bashing
Andrea Poe is at it again in her call for a boycott http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/red-thread-adoptive-family-forum/2011/dec/5/why-i-wont-buy-unicef-holiday-cards/ [12/5/11]
This emoticon was made for you, Andrea You criticize UNICEF for only helping children “in families”? Most children who live in orphanages HAVE families. You just are mad that YOUR agenda isn’t being carried out in THEIR organization.
(4) More fundraising
http://jesuslovesorphans.blogspot.com/ Check out the ladybug necklaces and the Ni Hao Kai Lan necklaces that are a copyright infringement. 
(5) More “advocating”
Number 4 led us to this link http://ambassadoroflove.blogspot.com/2011/10/find-my-family-friday-igor.html Real name given of the child and half-naked photos of an EE kid. Wow! Against the law AND insulting to the culture. Way to go! 
(6) Haiti trafficking
Read this story of the child being buried in a hole as he awaited being trafficked, but was found.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/watch-haitian-boy-buried-_n_1134139.html
Is this how you want to adopt a child?
(7) Bethany- oldie but a goodie on this major worldwide agency who is influencing foster care in US and China and Ethiopia
We were recently reminded of this startling article that outlines the “goodness”
of the adoption industry.
““The adoption and foster care agency Bethany Christian Services, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in Atlanta and Columbus, paid 72 employees at least $50,000 in 2007, according to its tax returns. The chief executive earned $169,000, while the agency’s vice president collected $178,000.
Bethany had a total budget of $9.1 million. However, $7.2 million, or almost four of every five dollars, went to management expenses. Another $1.2 million covered fund-raising costs — far more than the $694,000 that went to programs that directly served children.
The agency put more into employee pension plans than into children’s services.”
http://www.ajc.com/news/nonprofit-adoption-agencies-often-493623.html
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