Ukraine {31 for 21}

This is a post about Reece, but not of the female variety.  It's about a little boy named Reece who is the inspiration behind a charitable organization that is very near & dear to my heart, Reece's Rainbow. 

Children with Down syndrome and other special needs are often abandoned at birth and hidden away in orphanages and mental institutions abroad.  (BTW, I needed a "U" post & a large portion of the abandoned kiddos are from Eastern Europe so hence the title Ukraine - reaching, I know).  Reece's Rainbow raises money as adoption grants to help families with the high cost of adopting these children and giving them the life and future they so richly deserve. The average cost for travel, etc to save one child is approximately $25,000. The availability of a sizable adoption grant literally means the difference between life and death for every child.

Directly from the Reece's Rainbow website:
In only 6 years, we have found forever families for more than 800+ orphans, all with Down syndrome and other special needs. We have disbursed more than $4 million in grant funding to save them. We strongly believe that if every waiting child had a full grant, there would BE no waiting children!

To be honest, I have a hard time visiting this website.  I don't venture that way very often & when I do I usually end up a weepy, puddly mess.  When I look at the pictures of the children waiting for a forever family, I feel completey & utterly helpless.  And pissed.  These kids did absolutely nothing wrong & were discarded by their parents, dumped at the doorstep of an orphanage like a piece of garbage.  Did they ask to be born with an extra chromosome or be deprived of oxygen at birth resulting in cerebral palsy or inherit an HIV+ status from their mother?  No.  They are the epitome of innocent.

Reece's Rainbow performs miracles for these kids.  Without them, more than 800 children would not know the beauty of finding a forever family.  These kids would still be waiting in orphanages or even worse, would've been transferred to mental institutions to literally waste away.  And the unthinkable would've certainly happened to a few - they would've left this world without ever knowing the love & security of a family.  Without ever cuddling up to a bedtime story or falling asleep in the arms of a parent.  Without ever waking up to a mother's familiar face or hearing an "I Love You."  It is criminal.

I see Reese in every waiting child's face.  I imagine her confined to a crib with little human contact.  I picture her in soiled, ill-fitting clothing.  I envision her spirit & smile being quashed by neglect.  And it makes me insane.

Does this face remind you of anyone?  This is Annalisa & she's been waiting for a family since February of 2009.  Her biological parents waived their rights after she was diagnosed with Ds.

I've recently been witness to the amazing goodness that resides within most people & I plan to put that goodness to use.  I will blog about one of Reece's Rainbow's kids every month & ask each of you to either pray, contribute or share.  Maybe, just maybe, we can find a family for Annalisa or one of her pals.  

Because every family deserves the blessing of a child with Down syndrome...