Helping Families in Need

August 1, 2003

The *Smith family traveled in January to adopt their son. They arrived in his country of birth only to discover that their adoption was not complete, their prospective child was ill, and serious allegations were being leveled against their adoption service providers. In the ensuing four months, the family cared for their child in a foreign hotel while trying to complete their adoption. As their journey unfolded, the family was asked to provide information about their experience to the authorities and then began receiving threats to ensure their silence. The family turned to the US Embassy, Congressional offices and even the White House for assistance, but their inquiries fell on deaf ears.

Through a friend, the family learned of Ethica and contacted us. The family wrote, ” We are desperate! We fear for our lives, and aren’t sure where to turn. We have tried repeatedly to help this child and help the governments put an end to this [corruption], but the US Embassy
doesn’t even have time to talk to us about it. My husband has been in [country] for over four months now, trying to keep the child healthy and safe. If there is anything that you might be able to do, to help us in this situation, please let us know.”

Ethica immediately contacted government officials with whom we work and assisted the family in accessing emergency services overseas, before turning our attention to the problems keeping the family in the foreign country. Twenty days later, the family–and their new child–arrived safely on US soil.

The Smiths report:

“We were told by our Senator’s office and several [in-country] attorneys that we would never bring this child home, that we should give up and leave him there to die…They didn’t know about Ethica!

“Ethica not only helped to get us home in less than three weeks from the time that we first called them, they were in phone contact with us and the embassy, many times each day, working to ensure our safety while they were working so hard to get us home. We will forever be indebted to Ethica, because how can you ever properly thank an organization for your lives and the life of your child?”

*Name changed

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