International adoptions end as Romania joins E-U

Romania (MNN) – Romania is now a part to European Union. While joining that body may help the country economically, it has been devastating to the more than 40,000 orphaned children looking for a mother and father.

This has had an affect on the Romanian adoption program for Bethany Christian Services. Bethany’s Roger Bouwma says, “The Romanian government made a temporary decision to suspend adoptions while they were assessing their ability to join the European Union. Recently, now we got word that they have made that decision permanent and therefore kids will no longer becoming out of Romania for adoption.”

That doesn’t mean ministry in Romania is over for Bethany. “We are working with families and children, trying to place kids into foster homes and adoptive homes in the country. So, the need for what we are doing there has just become that much more urgent with this most recent decision,” says Bauwma.

Bauwma says Romania is finally seeing the importance of seeing children in families, rather than orphanages. He says the government is making a broad general policy of getting these children out of institutions and into families. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean international adoption.

Why was international adoptions abolished? “The person who was, kind of, the gate-keeper for Romania for entering the European Union, was very anti-international adoption,” says Bouwma. “She sees it as exploiting children. She sees it as money making for organizations outside Romania.” So, they banned international adoption to pacify those who were making the decision on the E-U.

The evangelical church in Romania is somewhat small, but Bethany is working with them to share the love of Christ with those they’re serving. Pray that many families in the U-S who have adopted children from Romania will feel compelled to give to the program so they can help even more children.