Wednesday, February 17, 2016

It's a lot of work. It took me 50 years

Eighty-two years after she was born to a teenage girl and put up for adoption, Betty Morrell finally has met her 96-year-old birth mother, thanks to the dogged persistence of her granddaughter during 20 years of searching.
And as a bonus, she has forged a close friendship with a sister she never knew she had.
"After my adoptive parents died, that's when I started looking," Betty Morrell said Thursday by phone from her home in Spring Hill, Florida. "Being that it was a closed adoption, it's like hitting a brick wall because you can't get any information."
Morrell was born in 1933 in the central New York town of Utica to Lena Pierce, who named her Eva May. Social welfare officials took the baby away because Pierce, then 13, was herself a ward of the state. Eva May was adopted by a family on Long Island and grew up as Betty Morrell, an only child.
"I grew up a very happy child," Morrell said. "I was so content in the family I was adopted by."
She was in her early 30s when she started looking for information about her birth family. She had been told her birth mother had died during childbirth and was shocked when she eventually learned she was still alive.
Morrell's granddaughter, Kimberly Miccio, started helping with the search when she was 12.
"My grandmother had been looking for a long time," said Miccio, 32, who now lives with her husband and three children a few minutes away from Morrell. "She had never tried through the Internet, so we started going through different sites."
It took 20 years, but the breakthrough finally came in September. Miccio got in touch with a distant relative of Morrell's through Ancestry.com, and that person put her in touch with Millie Hawk of Windsor, New York, one of Pierce's daughters.
"Kim and I got on the phone and called her," Morrell said. "I had found my baby sister, who's 65. We just clicked. It was like we had known each other all our lives."
Morrell learned she had four sisters and two brothers, and that her mother was alive and well, living in an assisted living apartment complex in Hallstead, Pennsylvania. That's about 20 miles from where Hawk lives.
"I rushed to my mother's house to tell her," Hawk said. "She just sat down in a chair and cried. She said, 'My Eva May, they found her?' It was just so emotional."
Morrell and Miccio flew to Binghamton, near Hawk's home, last month. Hawk brought their mother to the airport.
"The minute I saw her come through the security door, I just got goosebumps," Hawk said. "Mother reached for her; Betty said. 'Mom.' They hugged and cried."
"There were a few tears, and shaking," Pierce said. "It sure was a joy to finally meet up with her. It's kind of hard when you have a child that you get separated from. I never wanted to give her up."
Since then, Morrell has been talking regularly with Hawk by phone and Facebook, and they're planning a get-together in Florida in the spring. She talks less often to Pierce. "Sometimes I have to remind my mother of who I am," Morrell said. "I say, 'I'm your long-lost daughter Eva May.'"
Morrell offers encouragement to other adoptees who have contacted her via Facebook, telling of their own searches.
"I say absolutely don't give up. There's always something that will link it," she said. "It's a lot of work. It took me 50 years."

 http://www.kiro7.com/news/national/woman-82-tracks-down-and-meets-96yearold-birth-mother/63527044

Florence's Juvenile Court on Wednesday recognised "social" maternity as the legal parental statu

Florence, February 10 - Florence's Juvenile Court on Wednesday recognised "social" maternity as the legal parental status of a woman from Lucca who traveled to Kiev with her husband and brought back twins born of a surrogate mother there.
    Border police at Rome's Fiumicino airport became suspicious about the children's identity and documents upon the couple's return from the Ukraine.
    Thus began the investigation that determined the man is the children's full biological father, which caused the court to rule out the initial option of legal adoption.
    The case stands in contrast to the law in Italy, where surrogacy is illegal. In the Ukraine, surrogate parenting is legal when the pregnancy contains at least 50% of genetic material from one of the parents.
    Juvenile Court President Laura Laera said the case left "no doubt" as to what was in the best interest of the children.
    Parliament is looking at legislation to outlaw recourse to surrogate motherhood abroad.

 http://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2016/02/10/tuscan-couple-have-twins-by-surrogate_6ae76194-8312-4fa9-9ba6-4c8856b1ad19.html

help actual people who are suffering

“We’re seeking to help actual people who are suffering, as the situation in Ukraine is complicated,” Lajčák said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “We mustn’t lose sight of ordinary people even in national politics, let alone children who’ve lost their parents as a result of the conflict.”
As part of the package a symbolic cheque worth €25,000 was handed over to the chairperson of the Ukraine – Slovakia SOS charity Hana Švačka. The organisation will use the funds for two children’s homes, and to build a playground and buy furniture and hygienic aids.
Two health care facilities in Uzhgorod, near the Slovak border, are also to benefit from the Slovak assistance. Head of a regional hospital for infectious diseases Mikhail Polyak received a grant worth €8,700 that is to be used to buy a high-tech diagnostic tool called the elisa analyser used in detecting infectious diseases, TASR wrote.
Meanwhile, head of the city’s obstetrics clinic Oleg Onopko was presented a cheque for €8,700. The funds will buy medical equipment used in dealing with high-risk pregnancies and to look after prematurely born babies.
Apart from granting aid worth close to €3 million to Ukraine since 2014, Slovakia has also received over 140 Ukrainians for rehabilitation programmes in an effort to help them recover from their mostly mental ailments caused by the conflict there, as reported by TASR.
Lajčák meanwhile met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Parliamentary Chairman Volodymyr Groysman. After the meeting, he said that the current situation in Ukraine is fertile ground for populists, as it is much easier to criticise a government than support it. As a result, it is complicated to adopt difficult reform laws against such a backdrop.
A great deal of attention at the talks was paid to the Minsk peace process and the need to fulfil it. Lajčák deemed this to be a delicate matter, as it requires the adoption of difficult laws.
“It’s apparent that both sides are waiting for each other,” said the Slovak official, as quoted by TASR.
Lajčák and Yatsenyuk also touched on energy, with the former noting that “Ukraine views the Nord Stream 2 project very sensitively and has a negative outlook on it, because it’s damaging for the country both in political and economic terms”.
Despite the fact that many other issues are now on the front burner in Slovakia, Slovakia is keeping tabs on developments in Ukraine on a daily basis, said Lajčák.
“It’s important for us to make sure Ukraine doesn’t vanish from the agenda of talks at European forums,” he added, as quoted by TASR.

 http://spectator.sme.sk/c/20084981/foreign-minister-takes-humanitarian-aid-to-ukraine.html

Fifty years after first searching for her birth mother

February 9, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Fifty years after first searching for her birth mother, a woman adopted as a baby finally had success, and she says the hard work is worth it.
Eighty-two-year-old Betty Morrell, of Spring Hill, FL, was united with her birth mother last month and has also developed a relationship with her newfound sister.
"The minute I saw her come through the security door, I just got goose bumps," Morrell's sister Millie Hawk said, speaking of Morrell's first meeting with their 96-year-old mother at the Binghamton, NY airport. "Mother reached for her; Betty said, "Mom." They hugged and cried."
Morrell was born in 1933 in Utica, NY, to Lena Pierce, and named Eva May, an SFGate report said. She was taken as an infant by welfare officials and adopted out, because Pierce was just 13 and a minor ward of the state.
The years did not diminish the pain of separation for the mother and daughter.
"There were a few tears, and shaking," Pierce said of meeting Morrell for the first time. "It sure was a joy to finally meet up with her. It's kind of hard when you have a child that you get separated from. I never wanted to give her up."
Eva May had been adopted by a Long Island family and raised as Betty Morrell, an only child, who recounts a happy childhood.
"I grew up a very happy child," Morrell said. "I was so content in the family I was adopted by."
Having been told that her birth mother had died in childbirth, it later came as a surprise for Morrell to learn her mother was actually still alive, andwhen she was in her early 30s, she began seeking information about her birth family.
"After my adoptive parents died, that's when I started looking," said Morrell.
She continually encountered obstacles because the adoption had been closed, but with the help of her granddaughter, the internet opened up new doors in the search.
"My grandmother had been looking for a long time," Kimberly Miccio said.
Miccio, 32, began helping Morrell back at age 12.
"She had never tried through the internet," she continued, "so we started going through different sites."
In September, after 20 years, Miccio was able to connect via the Ancestry.com website with one of Morrell's distant relatives, who then put her in touch with Hawk, resulting in Morrell learning of her long lost mother and newfound family.
"Kim and I got on the phone and called her," Morrell recalled. "I had found my baby sister, who's 65. We just clicked. It was like we had known each other all our lives."
Hawk, who is one of four sisters and two brothers Morrell learned of with the find, and who lives 20 miles from Pierce's Hallstead, PA assisted living apartment, hurried to her mother's home with the news.
"I rushed to my mother's house to tell her," recalled Hawk. "She just sat down in a chair and cried. She said, 'My Eva May, they found her?' It was just so emotional."
Morrell and Miccio, who lives near her grandmother in Florida, flew together to the Binghamton airport in January, where Hawk brought Pierce for the meeting.
Since that time, Morrell has been in regular contact with Hawk on the phone and through Facebook, and the sisters are arranging a visit in Florida this spring.
Morrell talks less frequently with her mother, explaining, "Sometimes I have to remind my mother of who I am. I say, 'I'm your long-lost daughter Eva May.'"
She continues to give encouragement to other adoptees who have reached out to her through Facebook, sharing their own search stories.
"I say absolutely don't give up," said Morrell. "There's always something that will link it. It's a lot of work. It took me 50 years."
 
 https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/separated-mom-and-daughter-reunite-80-years-later
 
 

Though adoption is not completely out of the question

New Horizons for Children Inc. (NHFC) is the largest, faith-based host program for facilitating orphan hosting in the U.S. Since 2002, more than 3,500 orphans have been hosted through their ministry. In recent years most of their orphans have come from the eastern European countries of Latvia and Ukraine.
After learning about the Christian-based orphan host program, John and Sue Ann Cloar decided they would like to host an orphan themselves. After they applied for and met the qualifications for hosting, they were matched with a 16-year-old Ukrainian boy named Sosha, who came to live with them in December 2015. This allows orphans the chance to experience an American Christmas with a loving host family.
Friday, Jan. 16, 2016, the day before he was to fly back to his country of origin, the Cloars requested the State Gazette interview Sosha to learn about him and his views of America. Due to privacy issues last names cannot be used. Sosha answered a few questions about his visit to the U.S. A Russian interpreter was also on hand to facilitate the interview.
Sosha was asked about what he liked about America, the people he'd met, and things he'd experienced while here. Though very shy at first, he began to lighten up and replied: "I like Americans and ducks. Duck tastes really good!" referring to a meal provided by the family and some local duck hunters. He also said he would like to live here someday. Sosha's favorite sport is soccer and he loves dogs, cats and animals in general. He really liked going to Safari Park in Alamo, Tenn. and seeing all the animals they had. He was also very excited by the American pro-wrestler John Cena.
(Photo)
Host mother Sue Ann Cloar and Sosha.
In his country, Sosha said: "We are only required to complete the ninth grade, but I have kept taking classes and am in the 10th grade now." His classmates at the orphanage call him "Chipmunk" and when not in class, his job is making bricks. For the Cloars, their biggest surprise was how quickly Sosha learned to use the iPads and iPhones they provided him with, even though it was his first time getting to try them.
According to the NHFC website, without intervention, upon leaving the orphanage, 60 percent of girls will end up in prostitution, 70 percent of boys will be on the streets or in jail, and 15 percent will commit suicide within the first two years out on their own.
In late 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a bill that prohibits Russian children from being adopted by American citizens, due to cases of abuse that have been caused by American adoptive parents. Russia's proposed plans to compensate for the loss of American adoptions are to encourage domestic adoptions, boost aid to foster families, facilitating adoption procedures, and raising benefits for foster children.
NHFC provides families the unique opportunity to share love with orphans for a four- to five-week visit during the summer and around Christmas. They work with orphanages and foster homes in the Eastern European countries of Latvia and Ukraine to bring the school-aged children to the U.S. to stay with Christian host families. This can be a life-changing experience for the orphans who have never been a part of a loving, functional family. And at their age, 7-18 years old, they are the least likely candidates to ever be adopted; most believe they are unwanted and have no hope of ever knowing life in a real family.
(Photo)
John Cloar, Sosha, and Paris, the family dog.
In their four- to five-week visit, host families teach these children English, life skills, and about the love of God. By the end of the child's visit, most host families are eternally grateful for the blessings they have received in ministering to these precious lives. It brings the mission field right to your own home, neighborhood, and church. Twice a year, a mission's team of staff and volunteers travels to Eastern Europe and goes into selected orphanages. Together with the orphanage director and caregivers, the team works through an interview process to determine which children should participate in the next hosting program. The team will talk with each child, take a photo or two and watch them as they interact with other children, team members and caregivers. They search for children who appear to have a "resilience factor" in their lives that helps them to overcome past obstacles and difficulties.
A few days after Sosha's departure Sue Ann Cloar had this to say:
"We sent Sosha home this past Saturday. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. The airport scene was full of tears and sobbing and desperate clinging! I had no idea it would be so hard. I knew I'd be upset, but he took it hard, too, and that made it that much more difficult to watch him walk away with his chaperone."
Though adoption is not completely out of the question, it is probably not going to be an option due to all the restrictions concerning overseas adoptees. The Cloars are hoping Sosha can return this summer for another monthlong visit. Sue Ann added: "I love him so much! When I think about him, I think of Fivel Mousekewitz in 'An American Tail' where he's 'somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight.' Of course, I'm also hoping that we'll be reunited in some way, shape or form: 'somewhere out there, out where dreams come true.' We are hoping other families in the area might be interested in hosting, too. I knew hosting was good idea, but I had no idea just how much I'd grow to love him!"

 http://www.stategazette.com/story/2271888.html

Monday, February 1, 2016

Cinderella : The poor girl is an orphan: The Transition



Cinderella : The poor girl is an orphan: The Transition

We tend to talk about the character shoes as signs and determine the fate of a person. So be understandable wedding ceremonies, associated with enough new shoes: bridesmaid shoes stolen by guests, and the groom redeems them; the groom is able to drink from a champagne bridesmaid shoes (and a sign of to, but also of saturation with life of his lady). Understandable concerns about the right place carry: forbidden to put shoes on the table (in the England of the past centuries this meant to be a wish to be hanged) and deliberately turn it on (in Turkey it would be an act of magic damage). And natural girls rites of divination through shoes about the future of marriage, described by V. A. Zhukovsky.
Shoes as gifts or as hand-created object for us in the fairy tale folklore is the form of the new destiny of a hero. Women’s shoes (or boots) are essential in such famous and memorable tales as “Cinderella” by Perrault, “Red shoes” in the version by Hans Christian Andersen, “the little match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen, “Worn out shoes” by the brothers Grimm. In this article we will examine fairy tales “Cinderella” and “the Red shoes”, combined in an amazing way, through narrative motifs.
Cinderella
The motherless girl becomes a maid in the home of his stepmother and her daughters. To her, however, is her fairy godmother, glass Slippers gives and sends to the ball, with the condition that the latter will stop its dance until midnight. On the last day of the festivities Cinderella flees, losing her slipper, which the Prince finds her. All ends with a wedding.
Commonly, this tale is interpreted as a good perfectionist scenario achieving the objectives; how the plot of a good marriage, as the embodiment rewarded hard work and diligence.
Red shoes
Remaining a lonely orphan named Karen finds shelter with an old woman who throws away her old shoes, and instead of buying new. The old lady denies the girl the ability to show off the new shoes at Church, but she is cheating on her, and still wears them. She meets a soldier, who initiates the beginning of her endless dance in those red shoes that she can’t even remove. Can’t stop, girl loses life force and asks the executioner to chop off her legs. The rest of his life she spends a cripple in the service of others.
This tale is much more dangerous and less popular than the previous one, but her character looks antiheroine story of Cinderella, as if passing the same test, but different and wrong way. K. P. Estes, one of the few that treats this tale, assuming it was a warning from the dangerous pitfalls of the pseudo-saturation feral, starving women: opportunism, loss of a sense of proportion, the inability to stop. And we agree with this vision of the meaning of this tale. At the same time, we found it interesting to find her a new meaning in comparison with the fairy – tale counterpart, “Cinderella”.
The poor girl is an orphan: the transition
Character of both stories is a girl, obviously the marriage or premarital age, girl. She was left without a mother or have lost both parents. Such an approach tells us about the stages of initiation, which metaphor will be shown in the story. It can be typical for traditional societies to social, marital initiation of girls, which consists in choosing a partner.
Intrapsychic considered in the key, it is the stage of development of maturity of Ego, its separation from the “parent entities” and the independent decisions and actions. It is in adolescence before modern man, whether boy or girl, be challenged to build confidence in the philosophical picture of the world; empowerment; proactive initiatives; formulation of distant life goals and assume responsibility for their actions. Moreover, the process of identity formation depends on the implementation of these tasks.
Coming to us at a more Mature age, this tale once again will remind of independent step, a new worldview formation and life goals.

Give a consideration to the differences in upbringing



Give a consideration to the differences in upbringing and individual behavior of adopted child

On the basis of the dictionary definitions submission and analysis of logical reason the selection of this concept it is possible to offer following definition of subordination.
Submission is a conscious or unconscious change the individual’s behavior and/or belief in accordance with external factors.
A variation of this definition used for the study of conscious subordination as personally appropriate choices, can be the following definition.
Submission is a mental activity, involving a conscious change in the individual’s behavior and/or belief in accordance with the influence of external factors and soprano-edema cognitive-emotional evaluation of what is happening.
It is important to emphasize that, despite the identified main directions of interpretations of the concept of “submission” in explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language (obedience as a transition in a situation of dependence to and as a condition and discipline as behavior change), the proposed psychological definition of to is seen in only one of these values – the value of behavior change. Such differentiation as to status and to in a separate step gives the possibility of its universalization, the application of psychological to of the construct to explain various kinds of power situations regardless of the status of the relationship of subject and object of power, considering these relationships only as conditions that affect the submission.
Adolescence is the time between physiological maturity and social. These are two fundamentally different “threshold” which is divided in an archaic society. Puberty, according to anthropological wisdom, this period initiatiating rituals in traditional societies. The structure of initiation in archaic society, the classic definition of A. van Gennep, is based on a three-part scheme: the ritual isolation of the individual from the collective — border period (phase ritual of death) — reincorporate in the team, but already in new quality. “If the complete scheme of rites of transition theoretically comprises preliminary rites (separation), laminarnykh (gap), postliminary (on), this does not mean that in practice there is a balance of three groups according to their value or the extent of their development” [van Gennep, 2002, p. 15].
The initiatory procedure type of later societies (as we can no longer talk about traditional initiation, which it documented in the communities of primitive type) can retain their basic structural elements and features, although acquire a certain specialization of social groups, as well as a partial reduction of. There was transitional rites military class, the clergy, and also craft of male initiation. Women’s ritual passage from one social status to another usually were associated with changes in biological or social, i.e. fixed and the nature of the relationship with other people. Anyway, existential (or mythological) space of the individual can change only in the initiatic act, mythological, existential (or in the event that is meaningful to those later).