The Power of Many Voices

Look what we all did! This is the latest update from the JCICS website:

"Through our collective efforts, the Guatemala 5000 Initiative has resulted in 203 Members of the United States Congress supporting the completion of all in-process adoptions via their signature on letters being sent today, October 31, 2007 to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and UNICEF Guatemala Director Manuel Manrique. The 203 Senators and Representatives represent the largest number in the 22 year history of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and the first time the Coalition has addressed UNICEF.

Joint Council thanks the thousands of adoptive families and their friends who made calls, sent faxes and emailed their Congressional representatives. We also extend our considerable appreciation for the efforts of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute for their tireless efforts, to the National Council for Adoption for their support and to the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Coalition, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Norm Coleman, Congressman James Oberstar and Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite for their vital leadership.

The text of the letters along with all signatories will be available on Friday, November 30 2007 on both the Joint Council and CCAI websites. It is our continued hope that these letters will result in the development of a legal, transparent and expeditious process by which the thousands of children currently in Guatemalan orphanages and foster-care will find their permanent, safe and loving family.

As we have stated many times, Joint Council will continue our advocacy on behalf of the Guatemalan children until each child needing a family has found one."

Trick or Treat!

We had Trick or Treat in Fremont tonight. My good friend in New York always gets a kick out of the fact that we almost never have Trick or Treat on Halloween. I'm not sure why New Hampshire operates this way, but I do remember as a kid really liking the fact that we could drag Trick or Treat over 2 or three nights. Like we really need that much candy! My mum appreciates it now having a grandchild because she gets to have Ian come over to her house and bring him around their (my old) neighborhood and show him off without him missing out on going out with his friends in our own neighborhood. I guess it does work out well for us! Anyways, tonight we walked our street with the neighborhood clan. Ian was a mad scientist (as was his good buddy Eric) complete with glowing test tube concoctions. Thank you to Nannie for coming to hand out candy so both Greg and I could walk with the group. It was great to see all the kids having so much fun! I can't wait until Ana joins this gang of crazy kids!

Ian lost his first tooth!

Ian lost his first baby tooth this morning. It had been loose since the day before we left for our visit with Ana in Guatemala. When he told me it was loose I bawled (thank you Irene for talking me through it!), I was under a little stress at the time though in my defense. I informed that tooth that it was not to fall out while we were away, and it listened! Ian has been wiggling it ever since and just this morning said he twisted it and out it came!




He's actually home sick from school today, but was a champ and put up with me wanting to take his picture. He can't wait to put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy tonight! What's the going rate for a baby tooth these days?

Ooblek

Last Sunday Greg and Ian set out to make ooblek. It's a substance made from cornstarch and water that results in a concoction that is neither solid nor liquid. Punch the surface and it feels as solid as the ground, yet scoop up a handful and it oozes off your hands oh so nicely! Greg being well, Greg (aka bigger is better man) thinks that we need more than just a bowl of ooblek, we need a bucket full! Mind you, Greg was going to be leaving for a conference in NY in a few hours and hadn't packed yet. They empty the cornstarch from the cupboard into the bucket and add water...a little too much water...a trip to the grocery store is now mandatory. They came back with 4 boxes of cornstarch (and a box of Cheez-Its), and used three of them in the ooblek (at least he was considerate enough to replace the stuff they took from the cupboard!). After they had played with it for a while, Greg told Ian he could invite Alex over to play as well. They had a ball letting the stuff drip off their fingers, pretending to be monsters!

It was at about this point (shortly after snapping these shots) that Greg announced that it was time he should get going. No, he wasn't being Greg's joking self, he really thought he was going to leave me with this to clean up! I reminded him that when they started this project I expressed the desire that it would be his responsibility to follow it through to the end (I had been spending the day steam cleaning carpets after all!). Ooblek time then came to an end and Greg was off to NY city for two days. We still have the bucket in the garage (though it's not really ooblek anymore, more like damp cornstarch!), and the white powdered walkway as a reminder of the fun they had with ooblek!

Milo likes chocolate...but not hydrogen peroxide

So I pulled my tired body out of bed this morning and noticed that the aches and pains I had been feeling all week had subsided and I felt like I might actually be able to accomplish something! Yay! I have been battling something ever since we returned from Guatemala. First it was asthma difficulties, then this strange bug, I haven't felt functional in a while. So I was looking forward to gaining some control here in the Fraize household!

Enter Milo the wonder dog.

I took Ian to the bus and just left Milo out of his kennel thinking there was nothing really he could get into.....right....little did I know that I was going to spend the next hour chasing him around the yard trying to make him vomit. Yes that's what I said, doggie puke. While I was at the bus stop, Milo managed to locate an unfinished (I know, shame on me for chocolate abuse!) bar of Ghirardelli's Intense Dark, 60% cocoa, mint infused chocolate bar. Yes, it was very yummy, Milo would apparently agree. All that was left were shreds of tin foil and paper. I was furious!! And not just because he ate my chocolate! I now had to call our vet who has notoriously in the past immediately directed us to call poison control (lets see now the past calls were because of the ingestion of two separate types of plant, a fire starter log and you guessed it, chocolate, in the form of one whole dozen fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, I wanted to kick him...but I digress). Do you know that Animal Poison control costs money to call? Uh huh, that's right, you have to pay $55.00 before they will even listen to your problem. Anyways, our vets office wasn't yet open, so I decided to call an emergency veterinary hospital (after all, they were very helpful when Milo ate a diaper over the summer, and didn't charge us a penny!). They advised that I give him 1 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide, wait 10 minutes and if he doesn't vomit to repeat. If he still doesn't give back the chocolate I was supposed to call them back. First hurdle, I don't have any hydrogen peroxide...I need to drive to the store. I get in my car, the battery is completely dead, won't even turn over (our portable charger met it's end a few months back in an incident involving a fire, but that's another story for another time, hee hee I love you Marcia...). Thank goodness Greg has been up half the night with work and has not yet left so I take his car. I don't feel like walking into the big grocery store so I try the pharmacy...surprise, they don't open for another 10 minutes.....ARRRGH! So I go over to the big grocery store, buy two bottles (one for today, one for the next inevitable issue) and head home. Greg has by now dragged his weary body out of bed (I recall screaming up to him before I left that I needed him to get up to help me make the dog puke) and has managed to shower. I measure out 1 Tbsp and escort Milo out to the back yard. He very trustingly let me open his mouth and pour the stuff down and immediately begins to dry heave, I naively think this is going to be over pretty quick. Ten minutes later I am, not so easily this time, trying to muscle Milo's mouth open for a second dose (he's not so trusting this time, and therefore not as dumb as I thought). Again the dry heaving, but no chocolate. By this time, our vets office is open and I decide to give them a chance. I called and explained the situation, they advised I try the hydrogen peroxide every 5 minutes, and to try 2 Tbsp at a time. While I was giving him the next dose, Greg held on the phone while they did some calculations (where were these calculations the last few times?!). Milo won't even come near me now because he sees the measuring cup I've been using, I have to put it down and sweetly call him over (he comes, trusting or stupid, what do you think?). I manage to get the 2 Tbsp in and watch him run around the back yard intermittently dry heaving, but still no success! Greg comes out and says the vet informed him that we can give him one more dose if we want but that at Milo's size that he could ingest 6 ounces of this chocolate (he's had 2 ounces at the most) before becoming ill, that he might be kind of hyper today and might have some diarrhea (can we say outside day? thank goodness for sunshine!), but he'll be fine. This is really not the way I wanted to start my day...the moral to this story is:

Eat all thine chocolate in one sitting! Rationing is for suckers....

after all, would you rather enjoy a nice bar of chocolate or spend the morning watching the dog dry heave? The answer is clear to me, eat your chocolate folks!!

Lovin' NH

I won't claim to be politically minded by any stretch. I don't know what our Senators and Representatives in the good 'ol state of NH usually stand for but I can tell you that they are in my good book today. Greg spoke to the offices of Senator Judd Gregg, Senator John Sununu, and Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter today. All three told him that they have signed the sponsored letters to President Berger, and UNICEF. Senator Judd Gregg's office even went so far as to call Greg back to find out the specifics of our story, and to offer to contact the US Embassy in Guatemala and the Guatemalan government to request information regarding the plight of our specific case. I was in total shock when Greg called to let me know this. So once again, thank you to all that called on our behalf to inform our officials of these issues. They obviously got the message, and were moved enough to take action.

Those Little Orange Boxes...

I remember being in school and being handed those little orange boxes to trick-or-treat for UNICEF. I remember feeling proud that I could collect money to help children who didn't have the opportunities that I had. Those same little boxes that were so positive when I was younger have an entirely different meaning to me these days. Our town recently posted in their newsletter that the UNICEF boxes are available for families that would like to bring them around for trick-or-treat. I am now wrought with anxiety about having these children come to the door and having to tell them that I cannot donate. Guatadopt.com had a flyer that some have handed out in the past so I fiddled with it to come up with one that I will be handing out should we get any little orange boxes at our door. I am aware that there are good things UNICEF has done for children around the world, through vaccination, education and nutrition programs. Yet their stance on inter-country adoption threatens the welfare of the same children they claim to protect. Ending inter-country adoption without an adequate support system for abandoned or relinquished children would be disastrous for the lives of many children just like Ana.

Discouraged

Okay, I know we're lucky things have moved along so fast thus far. According to timeline norms, we are about 2 months ahead of where we should be. We were not expecting to even be thinking about PGN until January or February. I really shouldn't feel discouraged, but I do, I just can't help it. I think if we hadn't spoken with the attorney while in Guatemala I would be fine. I realize that we got our pre-approval a month and a half or more before we expected it, and because of that, the family court portion just isn't yet completed, it's to be expected! I wouldn't have hoped to move into PGN for a few weeks at least, but hearing the attorney tell us that we should be in any day now two weeks in a row (and then find out that the family court hasn't even issued our report yet), I got my hopes up and was really beginning to think that there was a possibility we could have been out of PGN by the end of the year and not be privy to all the unknown we will face at the beginning of next year. As the days tick by, I can't help but feel that possibility slipping away. I'm just feeling discouraged today...please bear with me.

I've been tagged

Jobs I have had: past tense
1) McDonalds
2) Medical Records Clerk
3) Laboratory Technician
4) Stay at home mom, freelance photographer

Places I have lived:
1) Dundee, Scotland, the first six weeks of my life :)
2) Epping, NH
3) Aurora, NY, my college years!
4) Raymond, NH
5) Fremont, NH

Food I love: I second all of Debbie's answers!
1) Mexican
2) Thai
3) Indian
4) Italian

Places I would rather be:
1) Guatemala with my girl!
2) Scotland visiting family!
3) Australia, I've always wanted to see it, plus my wonderful uncle Sandy lives there!
4) Hawaii, another dream destination

Movies I love:
1) the Harry Potter movies
2) Fried Green Tomatoes
3) Pay it Forward
4) the Green Mile

TV Shows I Watch:
1) It's so sad but almost any reality show you can count on me being hooked on, I'm ashamed to say we even followed "Pirate Master" for a few weeks, how sad is that?!
2) I also love the discovery channel; Dirty Jobs, Myth Busters, Ghost Hunters, wait maybe that one's Sci Fi.
3) Prison Break, love that show!
4) Law & Order SVU

Books I Love:
1) The last pleasure book I read was before Ian was born (yeah I know, pitiful) and it was so good, "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb
2) I also loved Memoirs of a Geisha
3) My current interest is books on adoption, surprise surprise :)

I'm tagging beanhead over at lifegonewild! You're it!

Not in PGN yet...

Greg wrote an e-mail to our agency contact last night as when we were in Guatemala our attorney said she expected us to enter PGN this past Monday or Tuesday. We received an e-mail back stating that we were not yet in, so that was disappointing. But she attached a picture of Ana that was taken on October 9th. It just so happens that was the day we left so it was a little difficult to think about. None the less, it was nice to see that she was back safe and sound at the hogar. She also happens to be wearing an outfit we had sent her in her care package back at the end of September. Nice to see those packages do indeed get there, and get used!

Some good news, I think!

Just in from www.guatadopt.com:

Grandfathering in cases....the intent is "official"

President Berger publicly confirmed the intent to grandfather current cases (I assume this means the 3700 cases that are REGISTERED). The Guatemalan press reported this with a statement by Berger:

"I have never said that I want to stop adoptions. What my government wants is full respect for the legislation that is about to be approved and full compliance with the Hague (Convention)" . The Guatemalan Press also reported the following:

Congressman Rolando Morales, one of the proponents of the new legislation, said that the intention with the pending adoptions is a full review to verify the identity of the woman that is relinquishing the rights on the child, that she is the natural mother, and that the child is given for adoption without coercion, and verify that the child was not abducted (stolen babies). Morales also mentioned that the final version of the new Adoption Law which will be published in the following weeks will not affect the almost 3,700 processes in the pipeline.

These changes (even if they delay the process a few days) are in the best interest of everyone in the process, specifically our main concern, the children.

Looks like good news, for now! I do still fear that the intended review of in process cases will result in cases being held up indefinitely. Hopefully the DNA testing and birthmother interviews required by the United States that have already been done will be enough for the Guatemalan officials to verify a clean case and approve of our process. Like I've said before though, anything that needs to be done to ensure children are coming to the adoption process by their birth parent's own wishes is okay with us. When we started this journey, our social worker told us to hold on for a bumpy ride. I just thought he meant a long drawn out process. I never expected it to be this minute you'll be able to bring your child home, but an hour later, hold up maybe not!! It has indeed been a roller coaster, and I'm ready to get off now thankyouverymuch.

Thank You

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for all the support and well wishes we have received over the past few weeks. It is overwhelming the amount of people who have made calls in support of Guatemalan adoptions, and have passed on the information to their families and friends. I have heard from people I haven't been in touch with in ages, and have heard through others how people we have never even met before are helping as well. It is so touching, and I don't think I could ever express how much it has meant to Greg and I to have the support of so many. We feel so blessed. There was just a new announcement made on the JCICS website, a sort of summary of what came of last weeks Guatemala 5000 Initiative. There is still more work to be done, but I believe the amount of attention that has been brought to this issue can only help the cause. We still await a definitive statement from UNICEF (their current statement is very weak), and from President Berger's administration (apparently we should hear something on Friday, no one knows what to expect). I wanted to share with you what our voices have accomplished. This is taken from the JCICS website:

GUATEMALA 5000 SUMMARY UPDATE

Your Voice Counts
The call-in, fax and email campaign generated thousands of inquiries
into the offices of the United States Congress, UNICEF and the
Guatemalan government. Initially designed for only three days, the
campaign began late last week and continued through this past
Friday. Your calls, emails and faxes resulted in Joint Council being
contacted by all involved including Congressional offices, UNICEF
Headquarters in New York, UNICEF Guatemala and the administration of
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. As a result, Joint Council
directly advocated with all parties and found virtually all to be
very responsive to your calls, emails and faxes. Your voice most
definitely counts!

Support Grows
The Guatemalan children served through Joint Council's Guatemala 5000
initiative continue to gain widespread public attention and the
support of key stakeholders including;

United States Congressional Coalition on Adoption,
United States Department of State
The Hague Permanent Bureau,
UNICEF Guatemala.

Visibility Increases
Through the efforts of Joint Council Member Organizations and
thousands of adoptive families, the initiative has been publicized
extensively in:

24 blogs including the widely read Huffington Post,
682 web pages including the civil action site Congress.org,
21 media outlets including ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates.


The Office of President Berger
During the past seven days, Joint Council has been in frequent and
direct communication with the Office of President Oscar Berger
regarding his administration's position on the adoption cases
currently in-process. Despite the ongoing dialogue between Joint
Council and the Berger administration, we are unable to report that
President Berger supports the unencumbered completion of the
adoptions in-process. Similarly, we cannot confirm the President's
support for the amendment to Article 52 of bill #3217, which would
allow for the completion of in-process cases under current law. It
is our understanding that the administration will publish an
announcement on the transition cases on or around October 19th.

The administration has provided Joint Council with a statement and
asked that we communicate the content to the larger community. (read
the text of the statement) Unfortunately, the statement falls short
of supporting the best interest of the children whose adoptions are
currently in-process. Joint Council will continue to advocate with
the administration to ensure that all in-process adoptions are
completed and the best interest of each child is truly served.


The following reflects the actions of each organization noted above.

Congressional Coalition on Adoption
The four Co-Chairs of the Congressional Coalition strongly support
the completion of all adoptions in-process. Letters from members of
the United States Congress will be delivered to Guatemalan President
Oscar Berger and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman on October 26,
2007. Please be sure that your congressional representatives (House
and Senate) have signed on to these two very important letters.

Unites States Department of State
On Friday September 28th, the U.S. Department of State revised its
Warning on Guatemala to include support for the transition cases.

The Hague Permanent Bureau
It is Joint Council's understanding that the Hague Permanent Bureau
supports the transition cases and has suggested specific language as
an amendment to Article 52 of the `adoption law', bill #3217.

UNICEF Guatemala
It is Joint Council's understanding that UNICEF Guatemala supports
the amendment to Article 52.

Dr. Manuel Manrique, Director of UNICEF Guatemala has notified Joint
Council that due to the large volume of calls, faxes and emails, his
office is unable to respond directly to all inquiries, especially
those who faxed their letters of concern. Dr. Manrique extends his
apologies to anyone who has not received a direct response from his
office and wants all to know of his ongoing concern for the children
of Guatemala.

UNICEF Headquarters
On Friday October 5th, UNICEF updated its stated position on
intercountry adoption to reference the best interest of the child
during a country's transition to full implementation of the Hague
Convention. In Joint Council's assessment, the statement is vague
and open to interpretation by those supporting transition cases and
those in opposition. Joint Council continues to call on the UNICEF
Executive Director Ann Veneman to directly and unequivocally support
the completion of all adoptions in-process.

Candles for Ana

There is a site where you can light candles for people and Ian and Ana's Mimi set up a group for Ana. If you would like to light a candle for Ana, click here, then click on any unlit candle. Each candle will burn for 48 hours at a time. Mimi's goal is to keep the candles lit until Ana comes home! Thank you Mimi, such a nice idea!

Emotional Exhaustion

We're back. This week has been the most emotionally exhausting week I think I've ever experienced. The highs were very high and the lows were very low. We were separated from our son to meet our daughter whom we spent 5 amazing days with only then to say goodbye for who knows how long.

A week ago today we left Ian in the care of our friends and family while we traveled to Guatemala to visit our new daughter. He was very upset when we left him and I have to admit I momentarily wanted to postpone the trip so he could come along. It was very difficult to see him so sad, it was the first time we have left him for an extended time, let alone to leave the country! None the less, I think it was for the best. Ian would have undoubtedly been bored most of the time. I admittedly spent a great deal of time just staring in wonder at Ana's sweet little face, trying to soak up as much of her as I could knowing we only had a short time together. I'm pretty sure I was in denial about having to give her back until the very last moment when I handed her back to the director of the hogar. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I know she is well cared for there, but I'm sure she doesn't get the amount of attention and interaction we would be giving her, they just have so many children to care for. I remember one moment during our stay when I was singing to her. She just stared into my eyes and smiled. I think it was then that it hit me, she probably doesn't get that in the hogar. Sure, they feed her, bathe her and diaper her, but all these things I was able to provide for Ian at her age, the cuddling, the singing, the kisses, I can't give her. I had 5 days, 5 glorious days, yet still only 5 days to show her how much she is loved. And though I know at the age of 3 months she will never remember our time together, I am forever grateful for it. I can't wait until the day she is in our arms forever. I have left a piece of my heart in Guatemala, and I won't be complete until she comes home.

A revised plea!

Okay everyone, I just checked out the status of the Guatemala 5000 initiative and they have changed it slightly. The information following is from the JCICS website.

10/8 - Based on events of the past three days, Joint Council has revised its Call to Action and Guatemala 5000 Initiative. While the changes are minor, they are none the less important to the overall goal of ensuring that the Guatemalan children whose adoptions are in process are allowed to be united with their forever family. It is the understanding of Joint Council that the U.S. Department of State, Hague Permanent Bureau and UNICEF-Guatemala now support the amendment to Bill # 3217, which addresses the issue of adoptions in process. As a result, we are recommending that your calls, emails and faxes be targeted to two primary entities; the United States Congress and UNICEF Headquarters in New York.

We greatly appreciate the recent revisions to the UNICEF statement on intercountry adoption. While UNICEF-Guatemala has been removed from our list of recommended calls, we continue to request that the office of Ann Veneman publicly support the completion of Guatemalan adoptions currently in process.

Make six four simple phone calls and one email.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.
· You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.
· You can find your representative at www.house.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

4. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarters
· Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director
· Their number is 212-326-7000
· Their fax number is 212-326-7758

5. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala

6. Send and email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org
· Write briefly or at length
· Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption

When should you call?
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (October 9th, 10th, 11th)
For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window!

What should you say or write to a member of the U.S. Congress?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information:
· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger
· If they do not have the letters, ask them to contact CCAI at 202-544-8500.
· Ask them to sign the Joint Council sponsored letter to UNICEF
· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the United States will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
· Inform them that President Berger's initial announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

What should you say or write to UNICEF Headquarters in New York?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information
· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to support the rights of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.
· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
· Inform them that President Berger’s announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

Thanks everyone!

Ana is asking for your help!

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow (the 8th) starts the time to participate in the JCICS Guatemala 5000 Initiative. Let's make sure everyone knows that this is about all the children that will be displaced from loving homes. All it will take is six phone calls and an e-mail. You might also want to visit www.5000orphans.com it puts all the issues in one spot in easy to follow terms. By the way, we are getting somewhere! From JCICS, "the Hague Permanent Bureau (HPB) has now joined with Joint Council, the U.S. Department of State and others in agreeing that transition cases should be allowed to proceed to completion without interruption. It is our understanding that the HPB has now conveyed their revised position to both the Berger administration and Guatemalan Congress."

Please help me come home!

How YOU can participate in the Guatemala 5000 Initiative

Make six simple phone calls and one email (see below for what you should say)

1. Call your U.S. Senator.
· You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.
· You can find your representative at www.house.gov
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

4. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarters
· Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director
· Their number is 212-326-7000
· Their fax number is 212-326-7758

5. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala
· Ask to speak with Manuel Manrique
· Their number is 011-502-2327-6373
· Their fax number is 011-502-2327.6366
Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls.

7. Send an email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org
· Write briefly or at length
· Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption

When should you call?
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (October 9th, 10th, 11th)
For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window!

What should you say or write to a member of the U.S. Congress?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information:
· Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger
· Ask them to sign the Joint Council sponsored letter to UNICEF
· Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the United States will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
· Inform them that President Berger's announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1, 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.

What should you say or write to UNICEF?
Speak from your heart and give them the following information
·Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000.
· Ask them to support the right’s of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws.
·Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1, 2008.
·Inform them that President Berger’s announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.
· Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

Can you explain the problem behind the pending crisis?

Here is some additional information…
·Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to effectively stop all adoptions into the United States including those children who have already been referred to adoptive parents
·Over 5,000 children have been referred
·The birthparents for these children have already relinquished their parental rights. As a result, they currently have no family and the Berger suspension will result in these children having no prospect for a permanent, safe and loving family
·The government of Guatemala currently does not have the finances or facilities to even provide housing for these 5,000 children
·The Berger plan is a crisis waiting to happen