China Program Update-AFC Email

Dear All,

I am very sorry for the delay in sending this. Below is the update on China adoption.
The CCAA has finished reviewing dossiers with a log in date of and before February 28, 2007.
The CCAA has also sent out referrals for October. The cut off date for this month is February 15, 2006. Alliance has received no referrals for this month.

Best regards, Lin Jing

September Updates-We are getting Closer!

Email from Lin Jing:
Six Alliance families received their referrals on September 2nd, 2008 after a lengthy wait. These beautiful little girls are from Guangdong Province and range in age from six and a half months to 12 months. Congratulations to the families and many thanks for their patience and understanding!

The cutoff date for this batch of referrals was February 9th, 2006. Our next log in date is March 9th, 2006.

China Program Update-AFC Email

Dear All,
I am so sorry for not keeping you updated on China referrals in June. Below is the update for the recent two months:

In June China referrals were sent to the families with a log in date from January 13th through 20th, 2006.

For July, the families with a log in date of January 21st to 25th 2006 have just received their long expected referrals.

Also, CCAA has by now finished reviewing dossiers logged in before January 31st, 2007.
Update on China earthquake relief: Alliance for Children Foundation has wired more than $15,000 to Child Care Department of CCAA to help the orphaned children in the earthquake area. Without your loving generosity, we would have not been able to do that. Thank you!

Best regards,
Lin Jing

China Program Update-AFC Email

Two Alliance families received their referrals on March 3rd, 2008 after a lengthy wait. These two beautiful little girls are from Guangdong Province and range in age from about 10 to 12 months. Congratulations to the families and many thanks for their patience and understanding!

This batch of referrals was, again, a small one, covering log-in dates from December 28, 2005 to January 4, 2006. Our next log in date is February 8th, 2006.

How to Use Chopsticks

When using chopsticks I tend to wear more than I eat. Maybe this video will help me out?

2008 Year of the Rat? Will we get a River Rat this Year?

A Ratty Year
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.

CCAA Document Processing-AFC Email

Document Processing The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before October 31, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before December 27, 2005.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Happy Chinese New Year to you all!

Worst Winter Storm in Half a Century!

The worst winter storm in half a century has hit China. The extreme wintry weather has paralyzed areas that generally receive little snow and communities lack the removal equipment and experience to deal with it. More than a foot has accumulated in hard-hit provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang and the city of Shanghai, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

Welfare institutions in south and central China are having the hardest time dealing with the weather disaster. This part of the country is simply not equipped to deal with extreme cold or heavy snow and ice. The most common critical problems are power outages, lack of safe drinking and cooking water, lack of fuel, and public transportation. This has left many travelers for CNY stranded and unable to get home for the festivities.

You Tube Video-News from AFC

Below is a link to a video that was just produced for Alliance For Children Foundation by Academy Award(tm) Winning Actress Marcia Gay Harden and her husband. This video beautifully explains what they do at the Foundation and what they hope to accomplish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rub584PHv4A

China Program Update-AFC Email

Hello Alliance families!
Happy New Year to you all!

Referrals
It has been another disappointing month. This batch of referrals has been a small one, only covering 5 days of log-in dates, from December 15th to December 19th, 2005. Therefore, Alliance hasn’t received any referrals from this batch. Our next log-in date is December 27th, 2005.

We hope we can have good news to share before Chinese New Year.

China Ghosts

China Ghosts: My Daughter's Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood

We loved this book! Over the holiday season we both read this and found it to be a fascinating read about a father who went to Changsha to adopt his daughter Jin Yu. Jeff Gammage is a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gammage writes, "Having a child enables you to imagine every child as your own." He finds it a revelation how much he loves her but is full of contradictory emotions regarding her origins: angry that she was abandoned as an infant and had to suffer her first two years in a Chinese orphanage, but grateful to China for granting him such a wonderful daughter. He views Chinese adoption as "a place where elation is paired with regret and hope stands as companion to sorrow."

http://www.chinaghosts.com/