I'm going to ask you today to take a moment to think about aiding the children in Russia's orphanages.

Why? Well, I got a note yesterday from the agency that helped me in both of my adoptions from Russia, and it made the reasons quite clear.

Because fewer children are being adopted from Russia now, there are more of them in the orphanages. Those of you who have been to Russia's orphanages in the past know how their resources were often stretched thin. Imagine how much farther they have to go now.

But it's not just that... more

One of the first things I did, when I went back to Sakhalin Island for my second trip, was take my little guy out shoe shopping. I had traced his feet on the first trip to the orphanage so I could buy shoes at home and bring them over, but it took me almost four months to get back there and I figured the tracings would be useless.

In a children's store in Yuzhno, we picked out a cute pair of yellow sneakers, and once they were on his feet there was no taking them off. Not even at the cash register. But I was unprepared for what... more

I got to interview quite an extraordinary young woman this weekend, and I'd like you to meet her, too.

Katya Lyzhina was adopted from Yekaterinburg, Russia by Jan Scholl when she was 11 years old. Her father had died when she was five and her mother when she was nine. In the U.S., Katya could have easily settled into a life of video games and trips to the shopping mall and I don't think anybody would have faulted her. But that's not what she did.

Two years after she arrived in her new home in Arkansas, Katya started Hope's... more

It's amazing how putting a lower-case i in front of a word can infuse it with so much promise: Think iPod or iMac; now add iOrphan to the list.

iOrphan.com is California registered non-profit that is using the Internet to raise awareness--and funds for orphans and homeless children living in the countries of the former Soviet Union. As I've written before in my posts on ArkAngels and... more

I made a promise, when I started this blog, that I would write not only about the process of adopting from Russia and raising children adopted from Russia, but philanthropic efforts to help the Russian children who may not be able to find forever families. That was how I came to write about an orphanage aid program started by a Hawaiian Rotary Club, and that is why I am writing today about ArkAngels.

ArkAngels For Russian... more

I recently posted a list of 10 questions to ask when you are picking an agency. Question No. 10 asked about what an agency does to help the children for whom it cannot find forever families. We may not be able to find every Russian orphan a home, but perhaps, through philanthropy, we can make their lives better.

And a lot of people--inside Russia and out--are making the lives of these children better. I'm going to start highlighting some... more