The Referral
Process
The referral process was initiated
almost immediately after our approval for adoption. For our first adoption we'd
initially planned to adopt from Haiti, this time we weren't in doubt that it
should be from China - although Thomas did apply some pressure for us to adopt
for Haiti so that we could have a truly mixed family.
From the papers being registered with
the China Centre of Adoption Affairs it took 14 months before a child was
referred. With Yanmei, the referral took 6 months - the waiting time was a real
killer this time around.
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25th
April 2001
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We receive a letter from our
organisation containing a list of information that we must send to
DanAdopt in conjunction with adoption:
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Physical
examination including HIV test
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Income
statements
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Financial
statement - signed by a notary
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Copies
of international birth and wedding certificates - signed by a notary
as true copies
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Danish
and International criminal records
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Motivation
for adoption letter
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Photo
copies of passports
We signed an
returned to DanAdopt a statement of our intention to adopt a child from
China.
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1st
May 2001
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We
visit the notary to have the necessary statements and copies signed by the
notary (total cost 800Dkr)
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3rd
May 2001
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Lene
visits the doctor for the health check-up and tests
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4th
May 2001
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Steven visits the doctor for a health check-up and
tests
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9th
May 2001
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Steven
re-visits the doctor to re-take the blood tests that had failed the first
time around (this is a major disaster as Steven hates getting needles
stuck in his arm).
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12th
May 2001
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We receive the criminal record documentation from France (where we lived
between 1990 and 1998)
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13th
May 2001
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We
send all the documentation to DanAdopt. Click on the link to read our
motivation for adopting letter.
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6th
July 2001
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Our adoption request is
sent to the China Centre for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). It was registered
with CCAA almost immediately.
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22nd
August 2002
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We were
members of an Internet group for families that were registered at CCAA
during July 2001. The first families from this group, from the US,
received their referrals.
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30th August 2002
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A message is posted on a
Danish Internet site for adoption from China that Danadopt's
representative in China has just received 4 referrals that will be
translated to English before being sent to DanAdopt in Denmark. It's Friday
night, so we can't get this confirmed before Monday.
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2nd
September 2002
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Lene contacts
DanAdopt and
the above is confirmed. DanAdopt tell Lene that the children come from
Zhejiang province, weren't all from the same orphanage and that at least one
was a boy. The papers were to be sent to the doctors before they would
give us more information.
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4th
September 2002
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DanAdopt
ring and inform us that we have received a referral, a boy from Yiwu,
Zhejiang - he was born the 11-8-1999 (it turned out that he was born the
8-11-1999!)
and called Da Ni. We couldn't get more information until the DanAdopt had
received written information from the Doctors.
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9th
September 2002
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DanAdopt
called to say that they now had all the information about Da Ni and that
we should be aware that he had a cleft lip, that had been operated. We
drove to DanAdopt's offices to get the referral information about Da Ni.
Beyond the medical information, we received the following information
about or son:
"He
was born on the 8th November 1999 and found at the entrance to the
Institute on the 10th November 1999 by a security guard of the institute.
His name Ni Da is given by the institute.
Upon
his arrival he was 49cm tall and weighted 2,5kg, head size 31cm. A cleft
lip was seen from his appearance.
Heart and lungs (negative). Umbilical cord on his stomach was bound up
well without bleeding and leak of liquid. Nothing was wrong with his
limbs. After his admission, he was sent to Hangzhou Hospital for a repair
operation on his cleft lip on 17th July 2001. The operation went smoothly.
So he went back to the Institute on 17th July 2001.
He
has the same schedule as the other children of the same age in connection
with everyday life. He gets up at 5:30 am, takes some snacks such as
biscuits and milk. 7:00 am eats breakfast (one bowl of congee and one
steamed bread), 11:00 for lunch (one small bowl of vegetables and rice),
11:30-13:30 takes a nap, 13:30 for fruit and snacks (egg, biscuits, milk,
tea etc.) 16:30 for dinner (one small bowl of vegetable and rice or
dumpling soup and noodle). He eats on his own. 17:30-19:30 for playing on
his own in the play room. 20:00 for bed time. He sleeps soundly. He has
poo poo once and pee pee once every three hours everyday.
He
has a bright and cheerful disposition. He is also sensible and obedient
child, but sometimes he can be very stubborn. He always smiles and shows
great interest in imitation. He is fond of toys. Now he is able to go
up/down stairs without support. He has learnt to scribble on a piece of
paper and understood the meaning of "inner" and
"outer". He manages to button up/down his clothes and take them
off. He can call "dad", "mom" with a clear
pronunciation. He is used to communicate in Mandarin
with the other children. Presently he is attending class which imparts
rudimentary knowledge to beginners. He really enjoys himself in the
Nursery. If he does not achieve what he wishes in the Nursery due to some
special reason, he is all tears on that day.
Luo
Dong Fang, Yi Wu Social Welfare Institute - 18th March 2002
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10th
September 2002
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We
sign and return the confirmation of adoption paper (Letter Seeking
Confirmation From Adopter) for CCAA and an equivalent statement for
DanAdopt. We also sign a statement agreeing to the Copenhagen County
Council visiting us twice after our return (after 6 months and 1 year).
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September
2002
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We
start to look for a name. In Danish 'Da' means 'When' so it isn't really
appropriate. We consider many names, for example: Daniel (as Yanmei
has a Chinese name we feel that Da also should), Nida (means elf, which
perhaps isn't very appropriate if he doesn't grow very tall and also the
National Institute for Drug Abuse), Dai ... Thomas proposes Daji. It ends
up being the chosen name, although when we realise that the Institute
actually called Da by "Ni Da", Nida would have been the same
name.
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16th
September 2002
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The last of the families receive
information about their children, so the China Travel Services can begin
to make travel plans.
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24th September 2002
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We receive the first travel plan from
DanAdopt. We are to collect Da Ni
in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on October 28th, staying in Hangzhou until
the 2nd November.
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28th September 2002
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The group met at Conny's
home to discuss the up and coming trip to China. Amongst other things we
discussed the sight-seeing trips planned by CTS.
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1st October 2002
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We decide to travel
to China on Wednesday 23rd October and spend some time in Beijing prior to
travelling to Hangzhou. We book tickets and inform DanAdopt so they can
inform CTS who will book a hotel for us for the extra days.
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2nd October 2002
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We receive the invitation letter from
CCAA "The Notice Of Coming To China For Adoption"
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23rd October 2002
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We travel to China - and the next part of the journey is about to start.
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