WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WNCN) — As the coronavirus continues to spread, a local agency says the crisis is impacting international adoptions.
Some families have had to put their trips to pick up their children on hold indefinitely.
“He’s been amazing,” Mary King said.
Four-year-old, Sammy is part of the gang. King and her husband adopted him from China back in 2018.
“We actually learned about Sammy in May and we traveled in October,” King said. “We were super lucky in that we were able to go to China. We spent two weeks there.”
King is also the Executive Director of the Frank Adoption Center in Wake Forest. Each year she helps a few dozen children.
“Our goal ultimately is to find families for children and not the opposite way around. So to be able to build that and see that happen,” she said.
Her agency primarily works in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone. The coronavirus hasn’t impacted her work there.
“Our concern is that obviously it could come there and like we saw with Ebola in Sierra Leone. The biggest concern is it could become a major issue. We’ve got families that are concerned about travel and international travel as a whole,” she said.
King advises concerned families to see their doctors and check the CDC website. For those planning to adopt children from China, it’s become more challenging. Trips are put on hold or canceled indefinitely.
“I know there’s concerns with orphanages and especially in smaller cities, getting supplies. I know a lot of agencies have collected masks and sent them when they’re able,” she explained.
China has a very consistent adoption program.
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