We only want to let others know You’re not alone
Friends set up project to help Chinese adoptees
Friends Josephine Jay, Hannah Feben- Smith and Addie Barra were all born in China but adopted by families in the UK and US.
United by their shared past, the trio – who met in Edinburgh in 2019 – have set up a multimedia project to support other Chinese adoptees struggling with their identities.
Josephine, 25, Hannah, 21, and Addie, 26, are among more than 145,000 Chinese nationals who have been adopted abroad since 1992 as a result of China’s one-child policy.
And thanks to the friends’ Whatever Next? project, dozens of young women like them no longer feel isolated or alone.
Their dedication to helping others has earned them a Sunday Mail Young Scot Award nomination in the Equality And Diversity category.
Josephine, who was adopted at 18 months from Fuyang in north-west China and now lives in Edinburgh, said: “I was three when I asked Mum if I’d grown inside her tummy. She said, ‘ No, you grew inside your first mummy in China.’
“We are among tens of thousands of Chinese adoptees living in the West.
“In 1980, Deng Xiaoping instigated China’s one- child pol icy to curb population growth. As a result of the Confucian idea that boys are more valuable than girls, China’s orphanages filled up with baby girls. From 1992, China allowed foreigners to adopt those babies. We were three of them.
“We all met in Edinburgh via a Chinese adoptee Facebook page after Addie posted that she had recently moved to Scotland and was looking for other adoptees also living in the city.
“After getting together, we realised the benefit of talking about our situation to others who have been through the same thing, so Whatever Next? was born.”
From podcasts and discussion groups to pop-up events, blogs and online forums, the project has been supporting lots of adoptees and their families.
Addie, who was adopted at eight months old from Hunan province and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, said: “Through the project, we aim to broaden conversations surrounding adoption. We want to open up dialogue about what it means to be a Chinese adoptee in today’s world.
“A culture of silence has dominated the experiences of many adoptees growing up, which can make adoption a very isolating experience. We want to let others like us know they are not alone. We believe conversations around adoption in general should not be taboo.”
The project gives adoptees the chance to address questions such as “Who are your ‘real ’ parents?” and “Why didn’t your birth parents want you?” It also offers advice on tracing family backbk in China. h
Hannah, who was adopted at 20 months old from Guangxi province and grew up in Dorset and Sussex, said: “The project has helped me open up and explore my adoptive identity. I’ve learnt so much from listening to other people’s stories.”
Set up in January 2021, the project has already made a massive impact.
I’ve learnt so much from hearing other people’s stories