Stuck in limbo: Filipino children up for adoption face long, uncertain wait while some grow too old to be adopted
- Given the lengthy, uncertainty process and decline in adoption, care facilities often have to transition their wards to life without adoption
- Extreme poverty, single parenthood and abuse are some top factors that push parents to give up their children
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.
At a children’s care facility in Cubao, north of Manila, 18-year-old Mel and her four younger siblings wait to be adopted.
Mel, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is already too old to be adopted. Her only option to join a family is to be adopted along with any, or all, of her four siblings.
It has been five years since Mel and her siblings joined the Gentle Hands children’s home, which also houses many children who have experienced trauma.
Mel and her siblings were placed into the facility from their aunt’s home, after Gentle Hands’ executive director Charity Graff received notice about the youngest child suffering from malnutrition.
“The youngest sibling was a referral because of severe malnutrition. When I was in the house then, I discovered four other children; the referral should have been for five children. The mother had neglected and abandoned them [repeatedly],” said Graff.
