Romania to ban international adoptions.

Romania (MNN)–With Romania’s parliament set to pass a ban on international adoptions, the focus turns to the thousands of children caught in the institutional quagmire.

Romania is keen to join the European Union in 2007 and has agreed to freeze adoptions until it passes laws to protect children’s rights and addresses fears that some children are ending up as victims of the human organ trade or pedophiles.

Their move is the final step in a three year moratorium on international adoptions. However, Buckner Orphan Care’s Tiffany Taylor says this has dire consequences for orphanages. “Adoption was a wonderful way to get the children out of the orphanages and into loving homes.”

Under the moratorium, Buckner teams have been struggling. “Now, with the needs of so many more children, there’s not the money coming in from Americans coming over adopting, and leaving orphanage donations, it’s put a tremendous pressure on us and our staff to raise the money and to be able to get to those children in need.”

The finality of the ban has forced Buckner and agencies like them to re-direct their focus. Taylor says they’ve changed how they do things, but not their mission. “The important thing for Buckner is to reach orphan children and to let them know about their heavenly Father, and we do that through ministry teams, through follow-up teams and through the ‘Shoes for Orphan Souls’ shoe drive. We are committed to continue to bringing new shoes and the Gospel to Romanian orphanages.”

Buckner is an established foundation in Romania called ‘Fundatia Buckner’ . Buckner is approved by the Romanian Adoption Committee and has been providing humanitarian aid, mission trips and summer camps for children in Romanian orphanages since 1997.