Penny Mackieson finally has the name that feels right to her, nearly 60 years after she was inadvertently swapped with another baby when the infants were placed for adoption.

After mustering the courage to contact the person that records indicated was her biological mother, the Melbourne woman spent two decades getting to know and love the woman and her family.

But gnawing doubts, spurred by the fact she resembled no one in the family, led her and her believed-to-be mother to take DNA tests, which revealed they were not related.

Adoption Information Services then connected with an elderly Greek woman – Mackieson’s real biological mother.

After a 15-minute court hearing before the Victorian county court on Tuesday, Mackieson’s 33-year search for the truth was finalised.

Penny Mackieson bonded for two decades with a woman she was told put her up for adoption

Penny Mackieson finally has the name that feels right to her, nearly 60 years after she was inadvertently swapped with another baby when the infants were placed for adoption.

After mustering the courage to contact the person that records indicated was her biological mother, the Melbourne woman spent two decades getting to know and love the woman and her family.

But gnawing doubts, spurred by the fact she resembled no one in the family, led her and her believed-to-be mother to take DNA tests, which revealed they were not related.

Adoption Information Services then connected with an elderly Greek woman – Mackieson’s real biological mother.

. Resolution to ‘save’ the stolen children. 

Public Prosecutor was present (Ms Grosjean)

The video of this even is black

 

American adoptions of children in Ukraine are in limbo due to the war, stopping many American parents from being united with their Ukrainian children.

16-year-old Sasha is supposed to be adopted and with his family in America right now. Instead, he is stuck watching a war happen right outside of his window.

"From the moment that he stepped through the doors at the airport, I was like, that is my son. And it really didn’t take any more than that. We didn’t need language; we didn’t need to bond. He was my son. And that was the end of it," says his soon-to-be adoptive mother, Jennifer Ruff.

That is how Jennifer describes her relationship with Sasha, a 16-year-old orphan in Ukraine, who already calls her mom.

“He fit in with our family immediately. So he is very silly and goofy, he is athletic. He loves sports, especially soccer and volleyball, those are his favorites," says Jennifer.

Children steal to do good? The Swedish adoptions from the time of the military dictatorship in Chile are finally examined in more detail

From 1970 to 1990 around 2000 babies and toddlers were adopted from Chile to Sweden. In hundreds of cases, the children may have been stolen or taken under duress from their biological mothers. But in Sweden, the responsible institutions hesitate to deal seriously with the injustice.

David Henningson actually has a different name. And no, this is not about the usual phrase that journalists use to protect their sources on sensitive issues. Henningson actually had a different name: he was born Manuel Jesús Gonzales in July 1973 in a provincial Chilean town. Three years later he lived with his then eleven-month-old brother Gabriel in a children's home. The father was an alcoholic, the mother missing and possibly pregnant by another man. Social services managed to arrange for the brothers to be adopted to Sweden. The boys came to Gudrun and Bo Henningson in Halmstad. That's what the adoption papers say.

To mark Commonwealth Day on March 14th, we are delighted to announce that CFAB is one of the founders of a new Commonwealth Children's Interest Group to protect the many children of Commonwealth families who cross international borders.

As today (14th March) marks Commonwealth Day, we are proud to announce that CFAB is one of the founders of a new Commonwealth Children’s Interest Group. Both our CEO Carolyn Housman and Trustee David Jones are among the conveners of this group, with CFAB acting as Secretariat. The inaugural meeting of the group occurred on the 28th February, and we are pleased to inform you that we had interest from a wide range of Commonwealth organisations, including the Commonwealth Business Women’s Network (CBWN), Commonwealth Association for Health and Disability (COMHAD), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Rotary International.

With a large percentage of the Commonwealth population aged under-18, it has never been more vital to form a unifying position in the Commonwealth to consider the needs of children and to protect the many children of Commonwealth families who cross international borders. The Commonwealth is uniquely placed to protect children, due to its diversity and shared inheritance of language, culture and law, but also its concern for those in situations which make them vulnerable. It serves as a catalyst for new forms of friendship, co-operation and common action. Given that all Commonwealth countries are signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this group is an important step forward in upholding those rights.

This new group will be working to bring forward children’s rights and protections on the international Commonwealth stage, focusing on advocating for policies to improve children’s safety and wellbeing. It seeks to collaborate both within the Commonwealth, including High Commissioners, and with international organisations, such as the International Social Service, UNICEF and Plan International.

CFAB is looking forward to assisting the group and work in collaboration with other experts in the field of child protection to improve the welfare and safety of children and families across the world.

When a couple saw photographs of two boys from Congo, they felt an instant connection and knew they were meant to be a part of the family. But what they weren't prepared for was the long waiting period before finally bringing their sons home.

Adoption is a phenomenal process, enabling couples to complete their families and experience the everlasting joy of parenthood. But sometimes, the legal paperwork and overall process might take longer to complete than expected.

Generally, international adoptions might be more complex than domestic ones because they involve more than one government, caseworkers, and adoption agencies. Astonishingly, that didn't stop one couple from going the extra mile for their children.

THE GROVERS

Jennifer and James Grover from Utah had a family portrait unlike any other. They were happily married with four biological children and three adoptive kids. There was never a dull day in the Grover family, and every moment was filled with their kids' cackles.

The petition was filed by the son of the deceased's second wife, who had moved the court after a corporation rejected his application saying that he had not filed a valid succession certificate.

New Delhi: The Chhattisgarh high court has held that an ‘illegitimate’ son is also entitled to be considered for a job appointment on compassionate grounds after the death of the father, the Times of India reported.

The petition was filed by Piyush Kumar Anchal, who had moved the court after Chhattisgarh State Warehousing Corporation rejected his application on the ground that he had not filed a valid succession certificate. However, in his petition, Piyush said that his mother’s name was recorded in the nomination form submitted by his father.

According to the petition, Mohan Lal Anchal, the petitioner’s father, worked as a junior assistant at the Pratappur branch of the warehousing corporation and died due to COVID-19 infection. Anchal moved the high court, saying that he was the son of Mohan’s second wife and hence, applied for a job appointment on compassionate grounds.

Suresh Kumar Anchal, the son of Mohan’s first wife, had also claimed compassionate appointment.

Comic book artist Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom was in her 30s when she learned she was a “paper orphan”.

Born in South Korea, and taken to an orphanage before being adopted to a Swedish family at 2 years old, Sjöblom was removed from her mother because of her unmarried status. Poverty, disability, religion or simply being indigenous can be enough of a reason for the adoption industry to take children from their first families, she says.

As a “paper orphan”, Sjöblom was registered as an orphan even though her parents who were alive and known to authorities.

Illicit transnational adoption has deliberately erased the families and identities of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

Now, the comic book artist, illustrator and adoptees rights activist lives in T?maki Makaurau Auckland with her partner, children and cat.

Project History and Roots

Wereldkinderen started the 'History and Roots' project in 2017 to collect available information.

Publications adoption

A report per country from which more than 200 children were adopted to the Netherlands describes the social, economic and cultural context at the time of the adoptions in the period 1970-2000.

Adoption file