Greetings FANA family,

The first home of your children needs your help. 

We are a remarkable organization that never fails to meet its challenges head on. We can all look back and reflect on our previous successful accomplishments. We can all say that we have remained true to our mission of “reliably supporting FANA of Bogota.” We should be proud to say we are part of this organization. We are not just an adoption support group — we are FANA. But we cannot just look back, we need to plan for what the future brings.

Over the past few years, the world of international adoption in a global sense has changed. This has changed the adoption process when we seek families for our children at FANA of Bogota. There is a different framework that we have to conform to which impacts us in a variety of ways — we need to understand:

•  The number of our FANA children who can be considered for adoption is smaller; 

•  The length of time that our FANA children wait to be adopted is greater; and 

•  The daily cost of our FANA children are increasing — for example, the need for occupational and physical therapy as well as school and medical expenses. 

But we need to focus on the message that these children are our FANA children,they are at our children’s first home, and they need us. 

FANA is currently operating at a loss of $300,000 per year.  This is not sustainable.  The dramatic changes to international adoption that are mentioned above and the changes within Colombia have created a situation where FANA of Bogota now cares for over 90 children.  FANA provides every possible service these children need.  Fewer and fewer children are being released for adoption.  This is dramatically reducing the rate of donations FANA is receiving from adoptive families around the world.  At the same time, caring for the children at FANA is a permanent requirement for FANA, and while a few children get to be united with their forever family every year, the end result is that most of the kids at FANA will not receive families and the costs for caring for these children will rise as they grow.

Our annual “Write A Check” time period is upon us. So as the request for membership is upon us, I do not come to you highlighting what FANA can do for you. I think we know in our hearts what FANA is for us. It is more than the sum of a newsletter, golf meeting, and/or Halloween party — it is our commitment to each other to be a family, a FANA family. 

FANA is the first home of our children. Our goal has always been to maintain the facility for our FANA children who are so vulnerable and for the opportunity of our own children having their first home to go back to one day.  As parents, we may never understand how important that is to our FANA kids.  Yet it is never enough to truly fulfill our mission. This past summer, Arturo indicated that there are five thousand FANA families in the world today, but less than one thousand of those families have continued their support through the years.  Our group makes up one of the largest contingents of those families.  As the year closes we must commit to continuing any effort we make to support the first homes of all of our children.  We must make the annual “Write a Check” campaign a full signal of our commitment as members of the FANA family and we must reach out to all of our past members who may have become disconnected with our group.   

Please feel free to complete the reply card enclosed or use the link provided to complete your membership donation. Minimum donation is $100 per family. (https://familiesoffana.ejoinme.org/wac2014)

If you have any questions or would like additional information about the current adoption processes, I am here to help. Please feel free to e-mail me (dobieseric@gmail.com) or call me at 716.860.8780. 

Take Care, 

Annie Dobies