We have listed the
most common questions that we are asked. If you do not see
the answer to your question here, please
contact us
and we will be happy to talk with you.
Question: Why don't we list ages of the children on the bios and
photo listings?
Answer: Because in Eastern
European orphanages, children are many times several sizes
smaller than American children their same age, and emotionally
and physically 2-3 years younger than their American
counterparts. They generally reach puberty many years later than
US kids too. This is due in part to nutrition, but also a diet
lacking in processed foods, fast foods and literally no junk
food. Kids who are pre-teens and teenagers are STILL KIDS, not
"12 going on 20". their innocence is still that of a "child" in
most cases. Children 7 react like 4 or 5 year olds. Children 12
react like a child of 8 or 9. It's not uncommon to find girls
ages 11-12 who still enjoy Barbies and dolls. Of course, there
are exceptions to this, but these are the children we aim to
identify and bring into our program. We are looking for
characters and personalities that would likely integrate into
Christian families. We don't want a child to be overlooked
simply due to a number. Interestingly enough, most families who
later adopt, generally adopt a child older than they initially
had in mind. The children we are presenting to you are between 4
and 15 years of age in most cases, unless otherwise explained.
Question: Do we have to consider adopting in order to host?
Answer: No, in fact, NHFC is
not an adoption agency at all. We are a hosting program.
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Question: What is
the most common child (type) requested for the hosting program?
Answer: Most families
looking to host are initially looking for a single girl between
ages 5-8 years old. Secondly, the request is many times for a
child the same age and sex as a child they have at home now. We
don't bring many children under age 8 or 9 simply because the
travel required for the children is strenuous.. Imagine
traveling as 2 parents and one small child on a 12 hour flight
in most cases, plus an 8 hour overnight train! Now consider 2 or
3 adults traveling with 25-45 children of all ages with some
being handicapped. It's just not feasible to bring a group of
40-75 children all under the age of 10. Additionally, our
program is to help older children who are orphans and who have
little to no chance at any decent future if they are not adopted
or at least have this experience of a functional family in
America... in case of not being adopted, so they can have this
experience to make life changing decisions in their own country.
We do at times, bring children under age 6, but typically they
are handicapped to some extent and need this opportunity as well
or they are part of a larger sibling group and we are trying to
keep them together. The other common request is for families who
want to host children the same age and sex child as their
own/biological children, in most cases this does not work out.
Reasons are typical ones including jealousy, competitiveness,
and differences in children. However, opposite sex,
similar age placements typically work and since becoming "new
best friends" is NOT generally anticipated for opposite sex
children, we think this might be the case. The motives are
different and expectations are not unrealistic. There are
exceptions to this, but again, it's not the norm.
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