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This recurring column will showcase the special, tough and/or adoptee-centric actions from adoptive parents that we know or know about.

“Holland couple Anna and Gabe Kalmbacher adopted three children from Uganda. Now they’ve formed a group to help other missing or abandoned children in the African nation.”

They adopted three children from Uganda. Now they not only see but ACT on the issues in the country.

““Now Uganda is the next latest, greatest place to adopt from,” Kalmbacher said. “But there are a lot of sad, sad things happening to break down families (there).”

To meet the new demands, recruiters are popping up in Ugandan towns and villages, pushing poor families to give up their children for adoption.

When children are separated from their families, it can be nearly impossible to reunite them due to Uganda’s disjointed police infrastructure.

“This is not unique to Uganda, but it’s very concerning,” Kalmbacher said. Earlier this year, the Kalmbachers launched A Child’s Voice, which partners with agencies in Uganda to ensure the welfare of the nation’s children.

A Child’s Voice was instrumental in starting a new, 24-hour hotline for Ugandan officials or citizens to call to report a missing, found or abandoned child. Information that callers provide is recorded in a centralized database. The hotline launches Wednesday.

Uganda has no other tracking method like it for children, Kalmbacher said.

“It’s very common for a missing child report to just sit on a desk. It doesn’t go anywhere,” she said. “My kid could be across the country and no one could connect that it was my kid.”

Holland couple create 24-hour hotline for missing Ugandan children

[Holland Sentinel 7/22/12 by Megan Schmidt]

Their website is http://a-childs-voice.org/ They are in the process of receiving 501 (c) 3 status. They operate under the Manna Fellowship 501 (c)3. You can find this organization here.

 

REFORM Model Behaviors: reducing fraud and protecting vulnerable children

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