David Platt’s message on Ruth and Adoption was one of the most powerful messages I have heard. Period. There was a weight and joy in this message that is rare. Please listen or watch and pray that God would speak to you.
Tags: davidplatt, adoption, orphancare, conference, sbts
The ABBA Fund Blog 
Yes! I highly recommend it also! I listened live via live stream and boy was it worth it!
I feel that the ‘adoption’ community are often misled and misinformed about the domestic situations in countries where they are adopting from – especially in Africa. Linking physical adoption to our spiritual adoption is fueling Inter-country adoption which can be extremely dangerous. Here in Uganda I can tell you that it is a can of worms. Children are ‘trafficked’ into institutional care in order to meet the demand of International adopters who are told, often from the pulpit, that these children have no one and that there is a crisis. In fact 80% of children in institutional in Uganda care HAVE families who could take care of them with some support. Domestic solutions including reunification, kinship care, domestic adoption and fostering are routinely overlooked in favor of Inter-Country adoption. Agencies are setting up and funding child care institutions and we are seeing families coerced into child abandonment to meet the demands of international adopters.
As a result IA is completely undermining the efforts of government and key partners to implement domestic solutions before IA is considered. The problem in Uganda is that the children who *really* need an international adoption solution are rarely the children who are being adopted out of Uganda.
In addition, due to the powerful movement and lobbying of the IA community (including church leaders), the balance of justice is actually tipped in favour of international adopters over Ugandans and expats who want to adopt. Example – domestically families have to foster-to-adopt for 3 years before they can apply for adoption, during this time the placement could be disrupted should the birth family come forward and want the child back. During the 3 years, without a long horrible process, they cannot leave East Africa with their child. An international family though can swoop in and within a number of weeks leave with the child without any restrictions that are imposed on the domestic family. How unjust is that? – when it is harder for Ugandans to adopt than it is for international!
We cannot advocate for international adoption without advocating for domestic solutions, justice, truth and transparency in all areas of adoption. I love the work of David Platt – BUT in this case I feel he is being naïve with the details and communicating a wrong and damaging message.
I would welcome further discussions.
Mark Riley, Alternative Care Consultant, Uganda