La Republica on Kidsave in Colombia

In July of this year, a child without a home was able to live in one. All of this is made possible thanks to the support of Kidsave International®, an organization whose purpose is to search for permanent affectionate bonds between abandoned children between the ages of 5 and 15, an age group in which the possibilities for adoption are less and less. The organization has implemented a variety of programs to assure that children who have never had a home will have the experience of living in one and Summer Miracles has proven to be the most successful program. 

This program consists of sending a child to the United States for a three month visit with a host family that simply agrees to get to know the child and offer them love and care. 

In the case of Colombia, 64 Colombian children have participated in the program and 90 percent of those children have been adopted by their host families after conclusion of the program, as Randi Thompson, director of the Organization that has headquarters in Los Angeles and Washington D.C., states. Kidsave has worked before with children in Russia, Kazakhstan and the United States. Since 1997, when Thompson went to visit an orphanage, she knew that the children were crying out with a look on their face that begged for "a mother" and that they needed someone to advocate for them. This experience led her to found Kidsave. The organization has y been legally registered in Colombia since last year and since that time it has been working so that each day more and more Colombians can participate in the program. Some of the protection homes that have participated in the Summer program include, Nuestro Hogar, Amparo de Niñas, Sagrada Familia, Fundación San Mauricio, Niña Maria and Club Michin. Thompson's vision for the future extends beyond continuing with the success of the Summer Miracles program. She has categorized this as a "first step" in identifying increased numbers of children without homes in a definitive manner. Although Kidsave International® is not an adoption agency, it creates bonds that will lead to towards that process. Thompson clarifies that ICBF is responsible for selecting those individuals that wish to adopt as well as the institutions and children that participate in the Summer Miracles Program. 

It is vital for her to have the approval of the government, private institutions, and other organizations so that the adoption process occurs with more frequency. And it is with this support that it is possible for an adoptive family’s economic situation to become less and less relevant when determining if they are eligible for adoption. It is because of this that Thompson feels that although the family’s economic situation must be taken into consideration what is truly important is the fact that the family is "realistic, tenacious, and above all, full of love." She can speak with full authority on this subject, because in addition to being the director of the organization, she also adopted two children herself. 

Kidsave International will continue to fight for children's rights. The organization's development will continue to become more concrete in July of next year, when another group of Colombians line up at the door of an airplane with the firm idea that a miracle will happen for them.