The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Davao urged the public, especially the childless couples, to try legal adoption procedures in the Philippines. This is to help orphaned, abandoned, and neglected Filipino children have a family of their own.
DSWD Davao officials attended the Kapehan sa Dabaw on Monday to promote the launching of the 2020 Adoption Consciousness Celebration with the theme: “Pagmamahal Palaganapin, Legal na Pag-aampon Ating Gawin!” this February. The program aims to raise awareness of the legal adoption process.
American missionary couple also attended and told the story of how they are legally adopting a child in the Philippines.
Kevin Cracknell, an American national, said they fostered a young Filipino boy for six years. They decided to proceed to the legal adoption because the child became closer to them. Kevin and his wife are now in the process of completing the legal adoption requirement set by the law.
Kevin and Amber were missionaries in the Philippines for 17 years. They were conducting a feeding program at their church, and there they found the boy they are adopting. They said the child was severely malnourished back then, so they decided to foster him and take care of him. That was six years ago, and the boy is now 11 years old.
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DSWD urged childless couples to try legal adoption in the Philippines
The Cracknell couple already has three children, but they continue to foster other children. They are now fostering two children right now, and one is for legal adoption.
“There are a lot of kids who need love. Consider adopting ’cause there’s so many out there. We’ve taken on two kids of our own, but they are abandoned, and I don’t know if you know and understand the word abandon, but they have nothing. I mean, these are kids they don’t have a mom. Nobody to rely on, they’re like grabbing for someone to hold on,” Cracknell said.
“They really do need foster parents, they really do have a need for people who have a heart to adopt. I just wanna encourage you help take part of the burden on their shoulder and let’s love kids unconditionally,” he added.
According to Raquel Nuñez, Assistant Regional Director for Administration, 48 successful legal adoptions took place in 2019. These were both domestic and inter-country adoption. 20 to 30% of which were adopted by foreigner couples.
“If you will notice it is expressing more on advocacy and awareness of the parents because we discourage this kind of situation to happen. Adoption is not getting the child because I want the child dahil cute siya (he/she is cute), dahil pogi siya (handsome), or dahil I want the child to take care para pagtanda ko meron akong kasama (so when I get old, someone will take care of me),” Nuñez said.