OUR DAILY PUB QUIZ
1
Which industry is the American city of Detroit linked to?
2
Reed, marsh, sedge and grasshopper are types of which bird? 3
Which film icon was born in Bristol as Archibald Alexander Leach?
4
Which Kennedy was involved in the Chappaquiddick incident?
5
How many pennies in an old shilling?
CHILDREN who are desperate for
“forever families” face a crisis, with almost three times as many of them as there are adopters.
There are 1,085 children in England with an adoption order and just 403 families approved to adopt, research by national adoption information service First4Adoption found.
Some 67% of the children are under five, 57% are boys, 29% are black and minority ethnic and 55% are in sibling groups, Adoption Register for England data reveals.
The Mirror has partnered with First4Adoption for National Adoption Week to help find them new homes.
First4Adoption’s Gemma GordonJohnson said: “These figures show an urgent need to find the right families for vulnerable children.
“Many experience neglect or abuse, struggle to trust adults, have complex health needs or are slow to meet developmental milestones.
“There are also children born into violent homes who witness things no child should see.
“Adoption is a lifelong commitment and it takes a special kind of person.
“But being placed into a safe and loving family can dramatically transform these children’s lives.
“If you think you have what it takes visit www.first4adoption.org.uk.”
ABukky’s hugs helped Jay settle in NY parent knows a supply of snacks is vital to keep up with the almost constant demand for food from most young children. So imagine a two-year-old so affected by his early life he won’t ask for food, no matter how hungry he gets.
That was the reality when Jay came to his foster family two years ago.
A small boy who would sit in the corner of a room, too nervous to let anyone touch him.
Now Jay is unrecognisable from that child, a smiling, happy four-year-old and testament to just what a difference having a loving home can make.
Foster carer Bukky, 47, recalls: “When he first came he was very, very withdrawn. He wouldn’t ask for food. If we let him, he could have gone all day without eating, that was normal for him. He was very quiet, very shy. The first three days he wouldn’t let me touch him.
“He’d just sit in the corner on his own. By the fourth day he was with us I couldn’t handle it any more. I had to be able to pick him up, hold him. And very slowly, he began to open up to me.
“But now, he’s come out of all that. And he’ll tell me when he’s hungry and enjoys food – especially any African food – he’s now in a comfortable place.”
Bukky, who also fosters a little girl, recalls the first time Jay allowed her to hug him. She says: “At the beginning, he was still pushing away from me, it was hard. But soon he understood that I was there to care for him. I was there to feed him, bathe him, give him all he needs.
“Then he slowly understood I was there to care, not to harm him.
“He started to open up very quickly and would then latch on to me. No one else could carry him!”
When I arrive, Jay, who is eating a