COUNTYWIDE : Couples Turning Abroad to Adopt

When John and Jane Galaska of Ojai flipped through the telephone book under “adoption,” they never expected to become proud parents so quickly.

Within months they were on a plane to China to bring home Kaylee Suzanne, an 8-month-old girl who was abandoned by her birth mother with only a short note in her pocket.

“Our experience was just wonderful,” said Jane Galaska, who adopted the child through Bal Jagat Children’s World Inc., a Chatsworth-based international adoption services organization.

The Galaskas were just one of about a dozen families who gathered Sunday at the Camarillo home of Brian and Sandy Lowder, who adopted two children through Bal Jagat.

“I love children, I’ll do anything for them,” said Hemlata Momaya, the executive director and founder of Bal Jagat, which translates to “children’s world” in Hindi. “I always wanted to help children in Third World countries, where they have no life to live.”

Since Momaya launched the international adoption agency 10 years ago, she has found homes for more than 400 children from countries as diverse as China, India, Russia, Romania and others. More than 25 Ventura County families have adopted children through Bal Jagat, she said.

“All children need roots to grow, and families are the only places they can grow,” Momaya said. “In almost all poor countries, children are very disadvantaged. They are born on the streets and they sometimes die on the streets.”

Many parents at the reception Sunday, at which young children ate, blew bubbles and played on a swing set, said they grew weary of government adoption services agencies before turning to Bal Jagat.

“We had spent about five years going through L. A. County’s adoption program and it left us with some extremely bitter feelings,” said Brian Lowder, who hosted the back-yard picnic. “You get the impression they want to keep a tight control over the kids.”

Today, the Lowders are mother and father to 5-year-old Brandon and 4-year-old Amanda, who both were orphans in India before being adopted when they were 3 months old.

“It’s a very encouraging process instead of a discouraging process,” Sandy Lowder said, comparing Bal Jagat with other adoption services.

Jill Johnson, a Westlake Village mother who serves on the Bal Jagat board of directors, adopted 7-year-old Ryan and 4-year-old Kelly, and is in the process of adopting another 4- to 6-year-old boy.

“It’s real important to him that he be around other Indians,” she said of her son. “We’re also members of the Conejo Valley Indian Cultural Society and he will be studying Hindi.”

Young Ryan peeks out from behind his mother: “I want to speak Indian language so I can speak to my brother.”