"Forced to go abroad
Stevan Whitehead and Elly Young adopted Ossie, aged nine, and Veronica, aged eight, from Guatemala seven years ago.
We tried to adopt domestically but were told in no uncertain terms by our local authority that we were too old: I was 38 years old and Elly was in her early forties. We decided to look abroad. We decided on Guatemala because they put children up for adoption who have been relinquished by their parents as well as those who have been abandoned. That distinction was important because we wanted children whose parents were still around, so we could be absolutely sure we were adopting kids who had been willingly given up.
The British end of the adoption was frustrating. Social workers had no idea how to prepare us. In addition, we spent years facing down insinuations from social workers that we were trying to do something that was not approved of.
Bringing up children from another country is a complex thing. I think we have been successful: the children are very aware that they don't look like us but they find this interesting and amusing rather than disturbing. We go to Guatemala as often as possible, and spent four weeks in Guatemala this summer."
Stevan Whitehead and Elly Young adopted Ossie, aged nine, and Veronica, aged eight, from Guatemala seven years ago.
We tried to adopt domestically but were told in no uncertain terms by our local authority that we were too old: I was 38 years old and Elly was in her early forties. We decided to look abroad. We decided on Guatemala because they put children up for adoption who have been relinquished by their parents as well as those who have been abandoned. That distinction was important because we wanted children whose parents were still around, so we could be absolutely sure we were adopting kids who had been willingly given up.
The British end of the adoption was frustrating. Social workers had no idea how to prepare us. In addition, we spent years facing down insinuations from social workers that we were trying to do something that was not approved of.
Bringing up children from another country is a complex thing. I think we have been successful: the children are very aware that they don't look like us but they find this interesting and amusing rather than disturbing. We go to Guatemala as often as possible, and spent four weeks in Guatemala this summer."
