Building Bridges BelgiumKorea

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GEADOPTEERD contact • support • advice BE about searching and missing about puzzles and losses about support and needs about doubts and why? about connectedness and abandonment for adoptees by adoptees and their questions .... Project presentation BUILDING BRIDGES Belgium <> Korea Adoptees calling for help! October 2012

description

Do we want to know where we come from?YES!Do we have the right to ask for this?YES!Do we respect others rights?YES!Can we do it alone?NO!This 4 questions reflects the spirit and goal of a new Belgian project called &#39;Building Bridges&#39;. Since Rome wasnʼt build in one day, we want to start this project in those countries where the majority of adoptees come from, being Koreaand India. On the long run and in our dreams we aspire to make this a worldwide project.At first we hope to find organizations, authorities and individuals willing to take part of this positive initiative, to build this bridges together and stand beside us for obtaining: a full recognition of our ʻright to knowʼ.

Transcript of Building Bridges BelgiumKorea

Page 1: Building Bridges BelgiumKorea

GEADOPTEERDcontact • suppor t • advice

BE

about searching and missingabout puzzles and losses about support and needsabout doubts and why?

about connectedness and abandonment for adoptees by adopteesand their questions ....

Project presentationBUILDING BRIDGES Belgium <> KoreaAdoptees calling for help!

October 2012

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Building Bridges Project: Adoptees calling for help! Belgium < > Korea (with a similar project in India) Goals Do we want to know where we come from? YES! Do we have the right to ask for this? YES! Do we respect others rights? YES! Can we do it alone? NO! This 4 questions reflects the spirit and goal of a new Belgian project called 'Building Bridges'. Since Rome wasnʼt build in one day, we want to start this project in those countries where the majority of adoptees come from, being Korea and India. On the long run and in our dreams we aspire to make this a worldwide project. At first we hope to find organizations, authorities and individuals willing to take part of this positive initiative, to build this bridges together and stand beside us for obtaining: a full recognition of our ʻright to knowʼ. Initiators Vzw Triobla, a Belgian organization with almost 20 years of experience in the adoption field, providing post-adoption expertise and support. From within this organization we initiated ʻGeadopteerd.beʼ, an aftercare project for adoptees in Belgium and run by a team of adult adoptees from different origins. This project brings adoptees together, gives them a voice in the adoption debate, gives support where needed and works closely together with local adoption organizations and authorities. Only started in 2008 we already gained a broad acquaintance and a vast recognition by adoption organizations and the Belgian government. The most remarkable achievements so far are the initiation of the yearly ʻDay of Adopteesʼ on May 29th (the day that the Adoption Convention of the Hague was concluded in ʻ93 ) and the key role we played in the building of a new Flemish adoption decree.

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How? During the last years, while many first generation adoptees grow older, we notice a growing number of adoptees asking for support (emotionally and practically) with questions about their roots. We believe that searching for roots, getting in contact with birth families or facing disappointments, needs a strong and proper surrounding/setting. At this side of the world we already invested a lot in professional pre- and post-adoption support. In accordance to the Adoption Convention of The Hague (THC-93) and the UN-Childs Rights Convention, every adoptee in Belgium has the right on access to their adoption files. Is that good? Yes! Is it sufficient? No! In many cases crucial information about their background is missing or hided. Therefor we need strong and reliable partners in S-Korea like adoption agencies, orphanages, governments, authorities, companies, individuals….. We want to join forces with the professionals in your country and at the end: many more adoptees who can be helped and supported in the searching for their roots, in their seeking for the lost pieces of their puzzles. We really hope that this project can be a next step in achieving this! What? We are certainly not the first to take steps in helping out adoptees in finding there roots. In fact, as post-adoption support regards, S-Korea is in many ways several steps ahead of other countries. But we believe that many more can and has to be done, together. We want to take a step-by-step approach but are ambitious on the long run:

• Set up warm and trusted partnerships between existing organizations in sending and receiving countries with respect to their different cultural characteristics. Bundle valuable expertise allready existing.

• Find recourses to support individual adoptees in their searching and organize activities to sensitize the responsible actors and the broader public

• Work out a practical and transparent roadmap for searching roots in Korea • Offer professional and accessible post-adoption support across the borders • Inform the local and international society why knowing roots is so crucial for

so many adoptees • Many more …

Looking forward to your feedback and ideas. •I may have gained many things by being adopted, but I've also suffered many losses.Ô

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Contact

Mr. San-Ho (Park) Correwyn, President of vzw TRIOBLA Coordinator Geadopteerd.be Private: [email protected] Project: [email protected] Phone: 0032 478900782 Website: www.geadopteerd.be https://www.facebook.com/Geadopteerd.be

Mrs. Pia Dejonckheere, Director of vzw TRIOBLA Adoptioncoach – social worker adoptioncoachblog.wordpress.com vzw TRIOBLA Zwevegemsestraat 20 bus 1 8500 Kortrijk - BELGIUM Phone: 0032 56 255004 Fax: 0032 56 255019 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.triobla.be