Orphans Enjoy U.S. ‘Vacation’

After 8-year-old Karina Serova stepped off the plane from St. Petersburg four days ago, she wasn’t excited to see Beanie Babies. It was the plums and bananas that the tired, hungry Russian orphan looked at with wonder.

Karina’s host mother for the next six weeks, Heather Lindquist of Laguna Niguel, has already bought $75 worth of fruit and vegetables for her. The little girl continues to refuse cereal and candy, instead asking for a tangerine or an apple from the now overflowing fruit basket.

Karina is one of 15 orphans living with Southern California families as part of the Kidsave International Summer Miracles program. Kidsave International, a nonprofit group, aims to place as many as 250 orphaned children--ages 5 to 13--in American homes.

So far, the group has focused on abandoned children in Russia, Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics who are housed in institutions without adequate food, shelter or clothing.

The children will stay in the United States for six weeks, giving the families time to decide whether adoption is the right step, said Sarah Stanton of Kidsave. The organization placed 97% of the children in homes last summer, the program’s first year, she said.

The children, who do not speak English, are not told they could be adopted, just that they are going on vacation.

According to Lindquist, the Kidsave program offered the flexibility of being able to “check out” a child before adopting them permanently.

“Where else could you get the unique experience in an international adoption of actually having the child in your home to observe their interactions and personality,” said Lindquist, a law professor. “It really takes the pressure off.”

Heather and Rob Lindquist have considered adoption for a few years, but they were worried about how a new foreign child would interact with their biological daughter, 8-year-old Lauren.

The Lindquists heard about Kidsave last summer and decided to be a host family this year. So far, Lauren and Karina are getting along very well, Heather Lindquist said. Although Karina doesn’t speak English, Kidsave provides access to a translator.

Watching Karina has reminded Lindquist of what all children have in common, but it has also reinforced how much Americans take for granted.

Another couple, Rebekah and Darrell Maffei of Orange, have taken in a Russian brother and sister and are considering adopting the children after the host period.

The Maffeis said they found the Kidsave program while surfing the Internet for information about international adoptions.

Like the Lindquists, they wanted to find a program where they could first see how the children interact with their own daughter before they made a lifelong commitment.

“I know some people would say that you don’t put kids on the block and check them out,” said Rebekah Maffei, who has an 8-year-old daughter, Alexandra. “But you do when you already have a child.”

The Maffeis are hosting Galina, 7, and Sergei, 8, Makov, orphaned siblings from Kazakhstan.

So far, the three children are having fun playing and sharing toys even though they don’t share a language. The visiting children have torn apart the house opening every cupboard and looking at every toy Alexandra has in her room, Maffei said.

“They came with the clothes on their backs and that’s it,” said Maffei, who has bought clothes and toys for the children, including backpacks and crayons.

She said the Russian children, who look somewhat like her, are certainly pulling on her heartstrings.

“I think it’s real strange that these kids showed up on our doorstep and they look like me,” she said.

Still, adopting the kids is not an easy process. The Kidsave program requires that all children return to the orphanage with an adult escort at the end of the program. Families who wish to adopt must travel overseas at least once and complete background checks.

Maffei said she’s not sure whether they will adopt the children, but her husband is already showing pictures of the Russian kids to colleagues at work. She said her daughter also loves the companionship, even though she’s been unexpectedly possessive about her doll set.

“She’s learning all about sharing,” she said. “It’s a crash course.”

For more information about Kidsave, call (310) 559-7995 or log on to https://www.kidsaveinternational.org.