Monday
Our Superkids team is in Taiwan this week, spending meaningful time with children—both those still waiting for families and those who have already been matched with families already in the program. These in-person visits allow us to see each child as they are right now—their personalities, their interests, and the small details that help tell their story in a more complete way.
Time together—through play, conversation, and observation—gives us valuable insight we can share with families and use in thoughtful advocacy for each child. It also deepens our collaboration with our trusted partners, who care for and know these children best.
This blog, written by Wendy Stanley, Supervisor in our Asia department, and part of this Superkids team, offers a glimpse into one of our ‘Superkids’ days—simple moments that reflect the heart of our Taiwan program and the connections that help bring children and families together.
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What is better than starting our Monday morning in Taiwan with a darling little 2-year-old boy? Starting our Monday morning with two darling little 2-year-old boys! Yes, I’m talking about twin boys, and yes, they are really that cute! They both loved playing with little cars and trucks and both thought hopping on circles was more fun than sorting colors. They have a family already in process hoping to match, so we use our time with them to learn more for their potential future family and help better prepare them to parent their double dose of joy.
Our first day in Taiwan, spent at ChungYi, was a good day. We saw a lot of amazing new children we had never met before. We saw some matched kids, some kids we are excited to advocate for, and kids who will be part of Gladney’s hosting program this summer. It is always such a pleasure to see all of their personalities and hear their answers to questions. It is fun because we ask a lot of the same questions to each child who is old enough to understand and answer, and their responses give us such a great glimpse into their personalities and how their minds work.
We have a picture book, and Nancy, our pediatric physical therapist, asks a lot of the kids questions about one of the pages. “What are the children doing?” “Washing their hands.” “Why do they need to wash their hands?” Here are a few of my favorite answers: “Because they need to wash the bacteria off of their hands.” “They have been touching animals and need to clean their hands.” “I have no idea.” I have to admit, I may have giggled a bit at each of these varied answers! Another favorite from yesterday was when Nancy pointed to a picture of a puppy and asked a little boy what kind of animal it was, and he replied, “Paw Patrol!” He is one of the children we’ll be advocating for in the weeks to come, so stay tuned to learn more about him!
We met several children in the 4–5 age range. Each of them was so sweet in their own way. One shy little girl didn’t want to do most of what we asked her to do. It was obvious that she could do much more than she was showing us, but when she got into another room where it was a bit less chaotic, she drew pictures and talked more. As we’re getting to know her, we’re learning all the little details that will help us as we advocate for her. On the other hand, we had a little boy who wanted to come back to the fun room, where he got to play games and kick a ball.
There was one sleepy little guy who was staying up way past his nap time to see us. He was very cooperative and did everything we asked him to do, but he kept yawning these huge yawns. I wanted to scoop him up and rock him to sleep! We are pretty confident that his future family will do just that.
If you have followed us for any length of time, you will know that we don’t get to see a lot of babies. So when we ended the day with a little 1.5-year-old beauty (who has a family that is matched with her and racing to get everything done to bring her home), we were all duly enamored. She toddled right into my heart as she toddled into the room. And then, to top it all off, she blew us kisses as she was leaving. There is no way to top a day that starts with 2-year-old twins and ends with a baby blowing kisses!
As always, when we are on trips, we are introducing you to some of the children we meet. Some of these children are matched, some are available for adoption, and some will be matched with families already in the program. If you would like information about Gladney’s Taiwan adoption program, please contact Mary.Chapman@Gladney.org. We would love to answer your questions!
