Peer support

The purpose of the Harambee Cultural Society is to celebrate the value of transracial families and mitigate the challenges faced by transracially adopted children. In 2020 Harambee will celebrate their 25th anniversary, so we touched base with them to find out how Harambee has grown and changed over the last quarter-century. All photos courtesy the Harambee Cultural Society, by jenniferarmstrongphotography.com

Focus on Adoption and AFABC have always sought to centre adoptee voices and perspectives, but the #FlipTheScript campaign (launched during Adoption Awareness Month in 2014) inspired us to launch a regular column called "Adopted Voice." The series ran from 2015 to 2016.

In ongoing this series, we interview experts about your key questions about adoption.

Are you an expert wanting to lend your knowledge to our families? Email us at editor@bcadoption.com.

Here are some of the articles from our long-running Diary of an Adoptive Mom series. This adoptive mother shares her experiences and secret thoughts of raising three children. This series ran from 2006 to 2010.

Note: Diary entries #1 to #7 are unavailable 

In our Living Openness series, adoptive mother Charlotte Taylor shares her experience navigating the world of open adoption. This series originally ran from 2013 to 2015.

We Are Adopted is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving and promoting the interests of adopted people of all ages. They support the exploration of personal and shared experiences for adopted and fostered people through regular meetups, workshops, speakers, resources, and community connections. Visit them and connect at weareadopted.ca.

Families with Children from China BC supports families throughout British Columbia who have adopted from China. In this article, FCCBC co-chair Sheila shares more about their story and how you can get involved.

Tell us a little bit about FCCBC

FCCBC was founded more than 20 years ago by David Robinson and John Bowen, two parents who had adopted from China. They were pioneers in international adoptions, before the standardized paperwork, detailed checklists, and predictable timelines that were the norm by the time we entered the system in 2005.

Respite is a vital support for many adoptive families, but it can be a challenge to access funding and to find trustworthy and reliable caregivers. In this article, an adoptive mom of many explains how to make respite a basic part of your family lifestyle rather than a last resort.

“I can’t deal with this right now”

My beautiful daughter’s hair was plastered to her head, soaked in sweat. Her clothes were covered in dirt from her tantrum, which almost always has her kicking and screaming on the floor, or the ground, or wherever.

Timberline Ranch Camp is the highlight of the year for dozens of adoptive families, many of whom have attended for years. With the eighth year of Timberline just around the corner, we thought it was time to celebrate camp and reflect on what makes it so valuable and special. This article is from the fall 2016 issue of Ni Hao, the newsletter of Families with Children from China BC (FCCBC). It does a fantastic job of capturing the experience of Timberline Ranch Camp!

Holidays can be tough for adoptive families. Here are our best tips for enjoying the season.

Keep things simple, and celebrate differently (or early, or late!) if you need to. The holidays may be full of warm memories for many, but they can also be triggering and a sad reminder of losses for our kids (and their parents!)
—Sarah, AFABC Team Lead/Community Engager and adoptive mom