North Carolina Family Brings Attention To Plight Of Orphans With Hiv
By Denise Collins
By Denise Collins
The Dewberry Family of Raleigh recently became aware of the high numbers of orphans in Eastern Europe that are HIV+. Joe and Nicole Dewberry are no strangers to adoption. They have been foster parents in the past and recently adopted at 14-year-old boy from Ukraine. Shortly after coming home they began to discuss the possibility of adopting again. Now almost a year later they are in the process of adopting a little girl who happens to be HIV+.
Its a no-brainer, says Nicole, who has worked with HIV+ kids in the foster system before. There is still such a stigma attached to HIV and AIDS, she says and there shouldnt be. We know so much more about the disease now than we did 20 years ago. There is absolutely no reason orphans with HIV should not be chosen by loving families. Advances in medicine have improved the quality of life for children with HIV greatly. Joe and Nicole feel that bringing her home to the U.S. will give her not only the family that she longs for, but also the opportunity to have the best medical care possible. They have already enquired about special care for her at Duke Childrens Hospital.
Nicole and Joe are Regional Coordinators for New Horizons for Children. NHFC is a non-profit hosting program for orphans from Ukraine and Latvia. They met their son through the hosting program in December 2010 and immediately started the adoption process. But this adoption is a little different. They have never met the child they plan to adopt. They found her on Reeces Rainbow, a website that helps advocate for orphans with special needs in other countries. Reeces Rainbow mainly focuses on orphans with Down Syndrome, but they have a whole section on their website called Other Angels. These are children with other special needs. That is where Nicole found Taylor. She knew instantly that she was the Mom Taylor had been waiting for. After several days of prayer the Dewberry Family decided to adopt again. We are so excited and our son cant wait to be a big brother to this very special girl, said Joe.
To learn more about the Dewberrys adoption journey and how you can help them bring Taylor home visit www.andthisonematters.blogspot.com.