More than 150 Bethel children have been adopted into loving homes throughout Bethel’s 15-year history. We hope that number grows. We are steadfast in helping our children prepare for future homes, which is why they have exposure to volunteer teachers in their English classes and Braille studies.
All adoptions in China are handled are handled by the Chinese government through an office called the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA). There are many children at Bethel that need parents and deserve the love and care of a family. We hope that your love for the children living at Bethel will spur you on to adopting any eligible child, regardless of where they currently reside. Many of Bethel’s children have the proper paperwork, but their uniqueness is buried in a shared list among thousands of others. Bethel’s goal in advocating is for families to see the actual child beyond just a file. Not all are available for adoption, or might already be matched with a family. If you are interested in adopting a particular child you have met or seen at Bethel email allie@bethelchina.org for more information. See the amazing Bethel children available for adoption below:
How to Adopt
If you are interested in adopting, you will first need to contact a licensed agency in your country of citizenship. If your country has worked with China to establish a way for its citizens to adopt from China, a licensed agency in your country working with the CCAA will be able to provide you with all of the current requirements and details of the process.
Once you determine you’re eligible and decide to move forward with adoption, your HAGUE accredited adoption agency will help you start and complete your home-study.
Many potential adoptive parents are not open to adopting children with visual impairments because of fear of unexpected challenges and stigma. Raising children who are blind is not that different from raising any other child. If provided with the right resources and the same expectations, kids will meet them. However, many of our families inform us that the visual impairments tend to not be the challenges that they face; instead, our families say they face the typical challenges all transnationally adopted children face. This includes understanding that they are adopted, and come from foreign institutions.
Not only are there many more resources for visually impaired children in adoptive families’ home countries to flourish, but the families who have adopted through Bethel have also created a community support network of families. If you have further questions about raising a visually impaired child, you can always email us at allie@bethelchina.org
Raise Awareness
To help spread awareness and familiarize families to what it would be like to parent a visually impaired child, Bethel published Exposed to Hope, an eBook about families who adopted a visually impaired child from China. Parents write honestly about the why, the how and the what happens next of the adoption process. Through real life examples, they share their experiences of meeting their sons and daughters for the first time, navigating the medical and educational system for visually impaired children, and what life as a family looks like for them. It is Bethel’s hope that more families will be open to this need. Click here to download Exposed to Hope through Amazon.
