Daniela & Anghy must arrive by April 26, 2024.

I wish with all my heart that we were raising money so our daughters could go to college, or buy a car to get to work—anything, really, as long as I was sure they really could become our daughters.

My wife Jenny and I are adopting the orphaned daughters of Jenny’s cousin Alonso. They live in Ecuador and we need to bring them home to northern Virginia, where Jenny and I can care for them. But an international adoption is—well, so much more than we expected. More time, more anxiety, and definitely more money.

I’ll tell you the story, but if you prefer to get the short version, know this: Once Daniela turns 18 (just five months from now as I write this in early November), she will no longer be eligible for adoption. And because the law says the girls cannot be separated, Anghy will also be lost to us.

We urgently need to raise $40,000 to make the adoption possible. I’ll tell you why and how and who…but if you read no further, please know your generous donation will help us bring our girls home. We need your help right now.

Here are the details:

OUR FAMILY: 

Jenny and I longed for children, but that didn’t work out. We’d decided to adopt, and found that we were called to try to adopt an older child—one who had endured trauma. We learned that, statistically, these are the children least likely to be adopted, and we wanted to share the good life we’ve built with someone in profound need. During our training and certification process, 18 months ago, we learned tragic news: Alonso, a police officer in the small town of San Miguel in Ecuador, was found dead in his police station. His death was improbably ruled a suicide, which meant that his daughters were no longer eligible for any of the benefits they should have received. Daniela (then 16) and her younger sister Anghy (then 13) lost the only parent they had left. My wife Jenny had always been close to her cousin Alonso. Jenny’s mother died when Jenny was born, so when Alonso’s wife died giving birth to their second daughter (Anghy), Jenny knew what the girls were facing. She’s been a sort of fairy godmother to the girls as they grew, and kept in close touch with Alonso to help and advise him.

The fact that Alonso lost his life just after Jenny and I had completed a training program for adopting teenagers in trauma…it felt then and feels now as if we were prepared by a divine plan to be capable and ready to take his traumatized children into our lives and hearts.

OUR JOURNEY:  It quickly became clear that no family member could take on the responsibility and financial burden of caring for the girls permanently. Therefore, with the approval of our relatives in Ecuador, we almost immediately began the process to adopt Daniela and Anghy. Jenny and I were as innocent as children when we began the process—we assumed that since we were the girls’ family, had a good home, and could afford to give them a good life, the adoption would be simple. But we are no longer those innocent beginners from over a year ago. Every time someone has casually said “Oh, this will take about two weeks,” it has taken two months. We can never count on schedules.

We were warned (and rightly) that the process could take 1-2 years and would cost approximately $60,000. I was astonished, and frankly I was horrified. With careful budgeting, we can afford to raise two girls. We have the resources and the love to give them happy, hopeful futures. But we didn’t have $60,000. So we began our quest for help.

Last week, we got the official approval for the girls to be adopted. That means we should be just three or four months away from the adoption.

Today they are in Ecuador, living with Alonso’s father, who can barely afford to support himself, much less two girls. Alonso’s brothers and sisters are doing everything they can to help, but times are tight for everyone. Jenny and I have been providing for Daniela and Anghy since Alonso’s death over a year ago. Expenses have added up through the year, taking away from our financial means to pay the total adoption expenses. Thankfully the adoption expenses have been due in parts and we have been able to pay for the initial costs. But now we are in the final months, approaching the time we would travel to Ecuador to finalize the legal adoption and bring the girls home. Shortly the bulk of the expenses and fees will have to be paid to cover filing, processing and lawyer fees plus our travel and stay expenses. That means we have to be able to pay our lawyer facilitating this in Ecuador. We must be able to pay the adoption agency’s fees. We must be able to travel to Ecuador to sign key papers, and Jenny will need to stay in Ecuador for at least two months as the process is finalized. We’re both lucky that our employers have allowed us unpaid leave, but Jenny will miss two months of salary and Jorge will miss 3-4 weeks of salary to complete this process—at a time when we most need that income.

Most importantly: DANIELA TURNS 18 IN FIVE SHORT MONTHS, in April 2024. This birthday creates an urgent deadline, because Daniela will not be eligible for adoption after that date.

So the clock is ticking. Ecuador won’t allow the girls to be separated (nor would we want to separate them), so once Daniela is no longer eligible to be adopted, we lose our chance of adopting Anghy, too. If there is even one obstacle I can clear out of the path to get this adoption completed before Daniela turns 18, then I must clear it. Nothing must be allowed to slow this process down.

EVERY NIGHT: Jenny and I have video calls with our daughters. They’re learning they can trust us…and that we have to give boundaries and rules as well as love and encouragement. We have found a wonderful therapist who has been working with the girls for more than a year to help them begin to heal from their trauma and help us strengthen our bond as a family. Plus we have our daughters learning English, to lessen the shock of their transition to a new environment, culture and country.

Earlier this year we traveled to Ecuador to be with the girls as well as meet lawyers and work through some of the legalities of the adoption. The visit was wonderful for all of us, and all four of us cried when we had to part. The girls ask us every night—can we come now? Will you take us home? How much longer?

How much longer?

I long to tell them when. I want my family with me. I need those girls to have the love and care they deserve. And so I’m reaching out to you. Please help us.

The total estimated amount just for the adoption costs is around $60,000. Our situation has required much more money than we expected, due to the complexity of the situation to care for both girls and the duplicate adoption costs. We have had to pay for lawyer fees in Ecuador (which are in addition to lawyer fees charged by our adoption agency) to file petitions and process the adoptability of the girls. In addition, we have been financially providing for both girls since they were orphaned in April of 2022, covering:

• School costs

• Clothing

• Medical expenses (including medications, physician visits, psychiatric treatment, psychologist costs (which are still ongoing), anddental care (including braces for both)

• Food, and

• Personal care needs.

Thanks to the generous support provided by friends and dear clients in the past, we’ve raised $20,000 of the $60,000 total.

Here are most of the costs bundled into the $40,000 we still need:

$10,000 – Agency fee

$1000- Dossier Preparation and Apostilles

$815 x2 ($1630)—third party monitoring

$1000—translation and notarization of documents (this fee comes up multiple times in the process as more documents must be filed with US and Ecuadoran courts)

$85 x 2 ($170)— Immigration Fingerprinting

$775 – Immigration paperwork fees

$325 x 2 ($650)– Visa for child

$600—domestic and international mailing and couriers

$2000- professional service fees paid to third parties

$10,750—Fee to pay the adoption agency’s lawyer in Ecuador. This is separate from our lawyer in Ecuador.

$1500- Agency post adoption support & reporting fee

$1000- Agency post adoption bond

$1500- Child & adoption processing and documentation fees

$ 1500-2000. - flights between USA and Ecuador for Jorge and Jenny and flights for Daniela and Anghy to USA

These are the costs of expenses that we have not yet paid for and are only some of the costs on the total estimate from our adoption agency. I won’t overwhelm you with the complete list. But if you want to think of your generous donation going to fulfill one or more of these costs, then please know you have our most sincere gratitude.

Jorge and Jenny