About Pearl S. Buck

Hi everyone - no news on the referral front, so I thought I'd post a few links about Pearl S. Buck, the founder of Welcome House - our agency. She was a remarkable woman:

"Our founder was the first woman to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes. Upon her return to the United States after forty years in China, Ms. Buck dedicated her energy and resources to promoting tolerance, human rights and inter-cultural understanding, as well as fighting the impact that discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry can have particularly on the lives of children." from Pearl S. Buck International Website.

Additional info about Pearl S. Buck:

http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/Buck/
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1938/buck-bio.html

PSBI is comprised of Welcome House, Opportunity House (coordinates child sponsorship), and The Pearl S. Buck House. The grounds at PBSI are really quite beautiful. We are members, so if you ever would like to tour The Pearl S. Buck House, visit the gift shop or attend any of their events, please let me know!

Parol Lantern Workshop

Maggie and I attended a Philippines Christmas Festival and Parol Lantern Workshop this past Saturday. The event was sponsored by the Philippines Folk Arts Society, Inc.

We enjoyed fantastic food and learned how to make Parol, a festive holiday lantern made from a wooden frame and colorful tissue paper.

We were able to meet up with another Welcome House family, learn more about the Philippines Culture, and catch up with my former colleague at Villanova, Marife Domingo, who introduced us to many in attendance.

It was a great day!

All photos courtesy PFASI.

Filipino Educator Named 2009 CNN Hero of the Year

From CNN.com:

Efren Peñaflorida, who started a "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership, has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year.
CNN's Anderson Cooper revealed Peñaflorida's selection at the conclusion of the third-annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday night.

The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre, premieres on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

Read the Full Article at:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/16/cnnheroes.tribute.show/index.html

Cultural Posting - Christmas

I thought I'd post some information about the upcoming holidays and how they are celebrated in the Philippines.

We're headed into Philadelphia this December for a Parol Workshop and Holiday Festival in December, sponsored by the Philippine Folk Arts Society. We'll learn how to make a traditional Parol (a star-shaped Filipino Christmas lantern), enjoy good food and company. I'll actually get to spend time with a former graduate student from Villanova who worked in my office while pursing her studies. Should be fun.

Read on for great information about Christmas in the Philippines. The below is excerpted from
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Cynthia/festivals/philippine_christmas.htm

Christmas: A National Fiesta

The Philippines is known as the "Land of Fiestas," and at Christmas time, this is especially true. Filipinos are proud to proclaim their Christmas celebration to be the longest and merriest in the world. It begins formally on December 16 with attendance at the first of nine pre-dawn or early morning masses and continues on nonstop until the first Sunday of January, Feast of the Three Kings, the official end of the season.

The Philippines is the only Asian country where Christians predominate. Majority of its people are Roman Catholic. Christmas, therefore, is an extremely important and revered holiday for most Filipinos. It is a time for family, for sharing, for giving, and a time for food, fun, and friendship.

To most Filipinos, Christmas is the most anticipated fiesta of the year and is celebrated accordingly. The splendid climate of this tropical island nation, the abundance and beauty of its flowers, and lovely landscape, its multitude of culinary delights, and above all its warm-hearted people with their true devotion to family and faith all contribute to a holiday celebrated in the true Philippines fiesta tradition...

...The bamboo parol (pah-role), or star lantern, is the symbol of Christmas in the Philippines, representing the guiding light, the star of Bethlehem. It emits a warmth unparalleled among holiday adornments and is unique to the Philippines.

Filipinos enjoy decorating their homes not only with star lanterns but also with all sorts of Christmas decors. Brightly colored buntings or streamers are hung inside and out. Often, Christmas cards that illustrate scenes in the Philippines are pinned on red and green ribbons. The cards are then hung in the sala, or living room, for all to enjoy. Candles and wreaths are also common adornments. Recently, Filipinos have begun choosing wreaths and other decorations made with local native materials rather than those patterned after western designs. And many houses, particularly those in the urban areas are strung with tiny multi-colored lights both inside and out. Most Filipinos think that decorating their homes for the Christmas holidays is a must...


 
Visit http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Cynthia/festivals/philippine_christmas.htm for much more about Christmas food, decorations and other traditions.

Flooding in the Philippines

As you have seen on the news recently, the Philippines has been hit recently with two major Typhoons. As I write the country is preparing for a third, and much stronger storm, named Ramil locally or Lupit internationally.

The first Typhoon, Ondoy, killed several hundred Filipinos in Manila and the surrounding areas in late September. Flooding caused great damage to many structures in low areas, including a few orphanages. Our agency's offices in Manila were spared, as apparently were other government offices. The child we sponsor was also not affected by the storms.

Typhoon Pepeng hit north of Manila a few weeks later and triggered flooding and mudslides in these rural areas.

Amongst our adoption community, we have read harrowing stories of survival from the flood waters. I felt so badly those parents who have received adoption referrals but who had not yet traveled. The stress was so great until they, days later, received word that their children were okay.

Clean up from the mud and high waters continues day-by-day. This slow process is hampered by the continuing wave of storms. Disease from flood waters is a major concern.

Articles and photos on these storms can found at the links below, or by googling Philippines news. Unfortunately, there are many articles.

http://www.unicef.org/philippines/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/philippines_51459.html

http://www.crs.org/philippines/katrina-of-philippines/

Video
http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_asia/2009-10-21/012908101278.html

Also - new: our agency, PSBI, is collecting monetary donations. For more information or to contribute visit: http://www.psbi.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PSBI_Typhoon_Relief_Fund_2009


I'll try to post an update in a few days, and additional updates on some happier subjects, like culture, food, music, trivia, etc. soon as well.

Keith, Amy and Maggie's Adoption Story

Dear friends and family,

We decided to start this site to keep you informed about our adoption journey. I thought I'd tell you a bit about the process and where we are to date.

In early September 2007, Keith and I attended our first adoption meeting to learn more about the process. We chose Welcome House, which is part of Pearl S. Buck International. Our good friends Mark and Lisa used Welcome House to bring their Nina and enjoyed working with them. That was good enough for us!

In September and October 2007 we were busy with lots of paperwork: submitting applications, getting various background checks, requesting reference letters, updating passports and completing background checks and clearances, etc. We also participated in pre-adoption training. Next we had our first (of 3, thus far) sets of fingerprints taken. Our homestudy was in late December 2008.

Our complete dossier was submitted to ICAB, the Philippines Inter-Country Adoption Board, in March 2008. On June 18, 2008, we were officially approved by ICAB. And the real wait began.

Since June 2008, we have been reading about raising an adopted child, learning about culture and traditions of the Philippines, connecting with others in the adoption process and attending a few events at Welcome House. I've met a few people who are from the Philippines or who have lived there. We completed a homestudy update, with the 2nd and 3rd sets of fingerprints, this past summer. In August 2009, we finally told Maggie about the future edition to our family. She is very excited to have a little brother or sister.

We are now "in the ballpark". A referral could come before the end of the year, or may not come until much later into spring (or, perhaps, later). After we receive and accept the referral, we hope to travel 4-6 months later. Keith and I will travel, Maggie will stay here under Grandma and Grandpa's guidance (and maybe a few visitors too) for about 7 days.

After we return, we'll then hole up at home for a while to start the attachment process. So, while we may not see you in person after we return home, we'll post updates and photos on this site.

I think that's it for now. Hope this helps to explain where we are and what's next!