Happy that these parents are getting their children

[midge and isi 8]

There are so many orphans but for those who have been working on getting their new children here this is one blessing the US could give them in this time of crisis. Even though many of us are waiting on this site I think we can be greatful that our loved ones are mostly well and safe.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Slashing red tape or ignoring ordinarily required paperwork, officials in the United States and the Netherlands have cleared the way for scores of Haitian orphans to leave their earthquake-ravaged homeland, according to officials from the two countries.

All of the children had adoptions pending with prospective parents in the two countries before Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake, and government officials said paperwork was expedited or put on hold to make transfers happen on an emergency basis.

300 children have pending adoption cases with American families. Six children arrived in Florida Sunday night, met by their adoptive parents with hugs and tears of happiness.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has chartered a plane to pick up about 100 children Monday, spokesman Aad Meijer told CNN.

Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin over the weekend granted the children entry into the country, although their paperwork, including travel and adoption documents, was incomplete, Justice Ministry spokesman Patrick Mikkelsen told CNN.

About 44 of the orphans' adoptions had yet to be approved by a Haitian judge, even though they were matched to Dutch parents, Mikkelsen said. Dutch officials may seek the remaining approvals from Haiti once the children have already settled in the Netherlands, he added.

Haiti is home to about 380,000 orphans, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, and that number is expected to grow in the wake of Tuesday's earthquake. And those who lived in orphanages before Tuesday may be homeless now, as reports of destroyed orphanages have come throughout the quake zone.

Some children who lost parents in the quake or were separated from parents are being relocated to the Dominican Republic, a child advocacy group said.

About 50 orphaned and abandoned children will arrive in the border town of Jimani on Wednesday, Kids Alive International said. The efforts, coordinated with the governments of both countries, will eventually take the children back to Haiti. Some will be reunited with parents who lost communication with their children in the quake's aftermath, the group said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/...ref=igoogle_cnn

[Niels Bohr 72]

Lucky kids!

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