Loving parents, not heroes

DON'T PUT adoptive parents in the same nursery as Brad and Angelina ("The problem with saving the world's 'orphans' "). People who adopt internationally are doing so to be loving parents, not heroes, and do not want to be stopped and told, "Your children are so lucky," as we were when our South American children were young.

Prospective parents take the difficult foreign route because it works. A baby or young child is usually available within a year as opposed to multiple years for domestic adoption.

Through our long visits to each country, we met the children's birth mothers and learned about the families' cultures. Corruption may exist. What we saw, however, were supportive and loving people ready to help us build a family.

Cynthia Sorn
Paul Anagnostopoulos
Carlisle