ADOPTING A CHILD IS CATCHING ON
The number of parents in the UAE looking to adopt children is increasing. According to Omana Menon, who is licensed by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara) to help couples in the UAE and Gulf countries, more than 2,000 Indian parents in the region have adopted children from India
dubai — When Dr Sitalakshmi Ramanan, an assistant professor with Higher Colleges of Technology, came face to face with Apoorva Sitalakshmi Ramanan for the first time, she instantly realised this is her little girl, and she needs to bring her home.
“I first met her on March 15, 2013, in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, and Apoorva was just two and a half years old,” said Dr Sitalakshmi, an Indian resident.
“I’d taken my older daughter Poorvaja Subramanian to see her, and when she extended her hand, Apoorva held on to it and called her didi (older sister in Hindi). At that moment I felt my family is complete,” she added.
Even though it was the beginning of a year-long battle to bring Apoorva home to Dubai, Dr Sitalakshmi and her older daughter adopted Apoorva from Satna through the Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara). Cara is the statutory body under the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development, which functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
Dr Sitalakshmi, a single parent, has one biological child and one adopted child. The assistant professor told Khaleej Times: “Apoorva has changed our lives for the better.” Dr Sitalakshmi is one of the several single parents who has adopted children from her home country in the recent past.
Though Sitalakshmi had underwent a lengthy legal battle in India to bring her daughter home, she added: “I got the visa for my daughter within a single day… Higher Colleges of Technology instantly accepted her as my daughter, and she enjoys every single benefit a biological child would.” Dr Sitalakshmi’s two siblings, a brother and sister, have both adopted girls from India as well.
Raising, caring for, sponsoring or fostering an abandoned child or an orphan, is allowed and encouraged in UAE when done through licensed charitable organisations though adoption is not recognised in Islam. The Emirates Red Crescent Authority facilitates sponsoring arrangements in the UAE.
Meet ‘mother of 2,000 kids’
Meanwhile, the number of adoptive parents is on the rise, according to experts facilitating the complicated paperwork for adoption. According to Omana Menon, who is licensed by Cara to help couples in the UAE and Gulf countries, more than 2,000 Indian parents in the region have adopted children from India.
“Approximately, 60 per cent of the adoptions take place in UAE,” said Menon, who is inundated with calls from couples and single mothers who wish to adopt. Lovingly called the ‘Mother of over 2,000 children’, Menon has been a representative of Cara for over 30 years.
Menon still recalls the first couple who approached her in 1986. “I was one of the founders of Indian Ladies Association… The adoption request was a bit unusual experience back then because it was hardly spoken about,” she said.
The last 30 years have been incredible for Omana.
She said: “An adoptive mother may not have carried her child in her womb… but she has carried her child in her heart.”
“Of the 2,000 adoptions, 80 per cent of the couples request to adopt girls, and the remaining 20 ask for boys, and a small fraction of the parents have no gender bias. Less than 50 per cent of the parents adopt out of the goodness of their heart, and the remaining adopt because they cannot have biological children,” she added. Menon receives eight to nine interview requests every month and takes on a maximum of approximately 4-5 cases a month.
Menon added: “From January, Cara has introduced a mandatory psychological evaluation. In India, the most number of adoptions take place from the Western state of Maharashtra, and the second-highest is from the state of Kerala.
“If a couple wishes to adopt from India, one parent needs to hold an Indian passport,” she said.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
I’d taken my older daughter Poorvaja to see her (Apoorva), and when she extended her hand, Apoorva called her didi (older sister in Hindi). At that moment I felt my family is complete.” Dr Sitalakshmi Ramanan, Indian resident
dubai — Couples and single mothers in Dubai revealed to Khaleej Times what it is like to be adoptive parents. British couple Selina and Billy Smyth-Daly adopted their oldest daughter Kenzie, 11, from Liberia and Nahla, also 11, from Sierra Leone. Their biological children are Logan, 8, and Piper, 5. For Selina, adoption has always been a dream and a choice for adoptive children.
Speaking about meeting Kenzie for the first time, Selina said: “The emotion of meeting our first daughter and bringing her home was surreal, special, wonderful and scary all at the same time. I’m not sure we faced any ‘stigmas’ as such but as parents who have chosen this path, our job is to educate society, on behalf of our children and we continue to do that, over a decade later.”
She added: “Our children are a tribe. They come as a pack, and they are very much being brought up with those morals, ethics and values. Family comes first and always will so yes; they are very close.” She said, “They argue and bicker like all brothers and sisters do, but they are also very loyal to each other.”
I’m not sure we faced any ‘stigmas’ as such but as parents who have chosen this path, our job is to educate society, on behalf of our children and we continue to do that, over a decade later.” Selina Smyth-Daly, British resident
Dr Sitalakshmi’s daughter Apoorva, according to her, is very naughty and affectionate. She said: “I have seen a lot of parents differentiating between biological children and that is not the way to go about it. But being a good parent is also mostly about learning on the job.”
Sitalakshmi’s older daughter, Poorvaja, a student of JSS Private School said: “If you think you have space in your heart and you can give life to another family, then you must embrace another child.”
Dubai- based chartered accountant and his wife Gokila Ugamoorthy adopted Yaadvrishi (2) from India. He said: “When we met, her smile which she spread on us, there is no language to explain the happiness.”
He added: “In our process, the delay is not much. The judicial process completed within twothree months and the passport for our baby was issued within two days of our application. The major challenge we faced is only the waiting time from the date of registration to getting a referral of the child. But it is worth the wait. With her, my family is complete.”