Guatemala 900 Vigil in Providence, RI on Wednesday, 6/17

On December 31, 2007 adoptions as we knew them in Guatemala ceased. There were 5000 in-process adoptions at the time that were “grandfathered” to finish under the laws in which they began. Gabriella's adoption was one of these 5000 cases. The Guatemalan government promised to process all of these grandfathered cases in a timely and reasonable manner, but there are still approximately 900 children still waiting to come home. The Guatemala 900 campaign was launched to bring attention to these 900 children stuck in limbo and to demand that the United States and Guatemalan governments work together to complete these remaining grandfathered cases and bring these 900 children home. You can read more about the campaign at: http://guatemala900.org/wp/.

On Wednesday, June 17th, there will be a series of events held to raise awareness for the campaign. The main events will be held in Washington, D.C. but additional vigils will be held concurrently outside of various Guatemalan Consulates across the country. There will be a candlelight vigil held outside the Guatemalan Embassy in Providence, Rhode Island at 5pm. I am hoping to be there. If you would like to show your support as well, the Guatemalan Embassy in Providence is located at 754 Branch Ave.

We need to bring these children home. My hearts go out to the children and their waiting families. I waited 13 months for Gabriella to come home and every minute of those 13 months was painful; I can only imagine how these families are feeling. Precious time is being stolen from families all because of political nonsense. Enough is enough.

Once these 900 children are home, the next step will hopefully be a demand to reopen Guatemalan adoptions. Children are living in dumps, babies are being abandoned in trash cans and on the streets, orphanages are closing and putting older children out on the streets to survive on their own. It nauseates me to think that if Gabriella was born five months later, she could have been one of these children. It is disgusting, wrong, unforgivable, and breaks my heart. These children need homes and there are thousands of families who want to provide those homes.