Gujarat's orphans find homes in Spain, Switzerland

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">AHMEDABAD: For 10-year-old Reema, who lives in a city orphanage, life is about to change for the better. <br /><br />She would soon leave for Spain with her adoptive parents, once the legal proceedings are completed.<br /><br />Many orphans like Reema, are now finding a warm home and ''parental'' love in foreign shores as couples come looking for children in a land "rich in culture".<br /><br />The Gujarat state Voluntary Co-ordinating Agency for Adoption''s (VCA) honorary secretary Natubhai Patel says that on an average, every year, 25 to 30 orphaned children from Gujarat find homes in foreign lands.<br /><br />"For foreigners, India is a land rich in culture and a place where family traditions are held in high esteem.As a result, they prefer to adopt Indian children. Cities in Gujarat,Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune are popular destinations for adoption," he says.<br /><br />Spanish couple Ria Sancharez and her husband are currently in Ahmedabad, waiting to take home their "adopted" daughter Reema.<br /><br />"We spend a lot of time with her at the orphanage and have already built a rapport with her. Our relatives in Spain are anxiously waiting her homecoming. Though she does not understand Spanish, many other parents in Spain say that their Indian children picked up the language very fast," says Sancharez.<br /><br />"Many childless couples from Spain come to India or go to China or Russia for adoption. We decided to come to Gujarat in India.We know other couples in our home city in Spain who have adopted children from Gujarat. That way the children can bond well," she says.<br /><br />"We also have an association of Spanish parents who have adopted children from India. They help each other in understanding the legal process of adopting children here. Many parents also get the children to India so that they can be acquainted with their roots," she adds.<br /><br />Patel feels state government should take steps to expedite the legal process involved in adoption.<br /><br />"While an adoption process in China may take just 15 days, we have a long waiting period and a number of legal procedures. A recent change in the legal system has shifted adoption procedures from the juvenile courts to family courts. This has led to further delay," he says.<br /><br />"It is important that a home can be found at the earliest for children living in an orphanage. If the adoption process is expedited, children like Reema can get a home with minimum delay. An orphanage is not an ideal place for a child when he can have loving parents who would provide for their emotional needs as well as education," he says.<br /><br />"As per government norms, couples from abroad can adopt an orphaned child here if adoptive Indian parents cannot be found. In Gujarat, inter-country adoption centres are located at Ahmedabad, Nadiad, Junagadh, Rajkot and Jamnagar," he says.<br /><br />Care is taken to keep children aware of their roots. Recently, a Swiss couple, who had adopted a six-year-old-boy from Rajkot, brought him back after 10 years.<br /><br />Patel informs that about 250 to 300 children from Gujarat have been adopted by foreign couples in the past decade.<br /><br />Sancharez says that she was inspired to adopt a child from India after she read a book written by Asha Miro ''The Daughter of the Ganges''. <br /><br />"The book is in Spanish. Asha Miro was a seven-year-old orphan when she was adopted by a Spanish couple who took her to Spain. After 20 years, she returned to India to her roots and wrote that book," says Sancharez.<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">(Name of adopted children and parents changed)</span><br /><br /></div> </div>