Chilean Orphanages and Adoptions

One of the activities we do is help out with international adoptions from Chile.

What?

Yes, we are officially recognised by certain governments to help the international adoption process run as smoothly as possible for foreigners adopting children in Chile.

What does that mean?
We accompany them the entire time they are in Chile (which can be anywhere between 5 and 12 weeks), making sure they don’t get ripped off, run over or eaten by a herd of rampaging llamas.

Since the couples usually have no Spanish, we help with the translations with officialdom (and normal streetdom too) and are there for the first encounter with their child/children (yes, some parents adopt two (or more) brothers and sisters at a time). We are observers, there for them during the first and subsequent days with the child and helping them out whenever we think something needs to be mentioned, translated or done. We are there for the big day(s) at court to get the official papers and also after with all the fun paperwork and bureaucracy that ensues until they are finally in their home country.

What do we get out of it?
The incredibly rewarding experience of knowing we are making an amazingly positive change and difference to a child’s life, but that credit should actually go to the adoptive parents and Sename, not us.

Many of the kids being offered into adoption (though not all) have either been neglected, abandoned OR fortunately been taken away from their “complicated” home (those that disagree and say they shouldn’t be removed from their first home are usually people who have no real idea of what went on in the child’s hard life, so don’t give me that fancy oh-we-can-make-it-happen crap). When you add in a couple of drug-addict parents who think a crack buzz is more important than milk for the child, or that they are fun as a punching bag or for any other despicable reasons (sorry, I’m getting wound up just thinking about anyone that does this), then you will see why we want to help children have a better life. (Note: this is not always the case and is what we have been told by SENAME and orphanage workers over the years, not necessarily applicable to past or future adoptions, just some of the kids we’ve seen in the orphanages). I firmly believe that ANY parent (biological or not) that does this to a child is an asshole.

Is it difficult?
In a way it can be emotionally difficult. The first times we visited some of the homes before deciding to help with the adoption processes was very difficult and eye-opening. What SENAME officials tell us about different cases, not just the ones at hand, it can sometimes be a difficult experience for us.

But then there is when we actually visit an orphanage now. The first encounter between Parents and Child (in my experience so far) has been an emotionally wonderful moment. Though, the tough part is seeing the other kids that will remain behind. Once there was a young girl that was looking through the glass pane of the door with saddened eyes and I imagined that she was thinking… and me? What about me? Tough stuff!

Yes, we may find it difficult at times, but it is nothing compared to the suffering these children may have already been through.

Why don’t Chileans adopt them?
Usually because it is more snobby and “IN” to adopt from Haiti or something! AndesWines mentioned on twitter that there was a report about this on the 9 o’clock News the other night).

Having said that, there are many loving Chilean parents that adopt locally however they naturally tend to want newborns or children that are only a few months old. The older a child is, the harder it is for him or her to find a home. And once they are 5 or so, Chileans are normally not interested and the child is usually then stuck in the “system” until they are legally old enough to leave.

That is why by law international couples can only adopt Chilean children over the age of 5 (though most are 6 or 7). So it works out well. You may be surprised to know that most get adopted into Italy.

I admire Sename
Sename (Servicio Nacional de Menores) is the government organisation that takes care of everything to do with children in Chile (and not just adoptions). And I must say the adoption process side of Sename (can’t speak about the rest) is one slick mean machine. They know what they’re doing and they do it well, even to the point that foreign couples are even blown away about how well everything is organised.

The Tias from Iquique

I also admire the work the “Tias” do?
Tias literally means Aunts, though is what children often call women instead of their real name. Since I am a guy, I get called Tio, or Uncle!
Many of the “Tias” are volunteers and you can tell they genuinely love and care for the children at the orphanage. You can tell how attached they get to the children too with the flood of tears that come with the final goodbye. Remember that you need people there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so some do long shifts and become very attached.

What can I say about the orphanages?
For some reason almost all international adoptions are of children from outside of Santiago (which is why I was recently in Iquique) though I have also visited ones in Santiago.

Yesterday I asked one of the ladies how their orphanage was financed.
She said they do get a small subsidy from the government for every child though I learnt (with a quick mental calculation) that it is not enough to cover their basic necessities, though, I suppose it is better than nothing.
80% of running costs come from donations from individuals, sometimes companies or fundraising campaigns they do during the year. (Nothing to do with the Teletón (Telethon) that rakes in millions of dollars every couple of years but only for children with disabilities and the Teletón staff)

If you consider the number of children at each orphanage and the amount of nappies (that’s diapers for you folks from up north) and tins of NAN milk (a special baby milk powder) they need, you can see that they require as much external support as possible.

The orphanage staff is not paid by the government. In Iquique, or at least at that home in particular, the YMCA helps pay the staff after doing fundraising events. In other cities I am not sure how it works. Sename do have paid government staff which visit the children including psychologists (that do an incredible job), so you can’t say the govt has left them to fend for themselves.

In Iquique the physical residence (a nice word used instead of orphanage) was one of the best I have seen in Chile, most likely because of donations from local mining companies (that have loads of dosh to throw around).

So that is what I have been doing in Iquique over the last week.

If you have any questions, let me know and I will see if we can answer them.

Tagged as: Chile, Experiences, Iquique