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 | VAN Excited About Vietnam Adoptions Resuming
by Bree Sibbel |
<%2>The Vietnamese Adoptee Network, or VAN, is excited that adoptions are re-opening in Vietnam. Many of VAN’s families have at least one child from Vietnam and are hoping to extend their family. VAN looks forward to welcoming new families and adoptees to the network. For those adoptees from the 60s and 70s it is invigorating to see young Vietnamese adoptees.
The Vietnamese Adoptee Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to maximize the Vietnamese adoptee experience in a caring, supportive environment by networking them to other Vietnamese adoptees and community resources.
Parents play a critical role in the VAN community. It is the dialog and sharing between parents and adult adoptees that make the most impact on the adoption experience.
“Your generosity of spirit and passion for helping adoptive families are truly special and shine through all you do. Thank you, thank you.” — Cindy, Al, Danial, and Alli Robertson, adoptive parents
“VAN members are honest and candid in their remarks and speak with great sincerity and enthusiasm. They’ve repeatedly ‘gone the extra mile’ in reaching out to Vietnamese adoptees and adoptive parents.” — Lana Noone, adoptive parent and author of “Global Mom: Notes From a Pioneer Adoptive Family.”
Prospective parents are invited to peruse VAN’s Web site at www.van-online.org for useful resources, join our Yahoo group, attend an upcoming event or sign up for a membership to receive future discounts and newsletters. VAN works with parents by sharing personal experiences and key learnings. Networking with other adoptees and parents is a key component of the VAN community. Our conferences include topics such as transracial adoption, birth searches, trips to Vietnam and identity issues.
VAN was established following a 25-year Vietnamese adoptee reunion in 2000. For the first time in many Vietnamese adoptees’ lives, they were reunited with other Vietnamese adoptees. Meeting other adoptees served as the catalyst that several adoptees used to start the Vietnamese Adoptee Network. Many of the founding members realized that the time had come for the torch to be passed to the adoptee community, and that the stewardship of the Vietnamese adoptees’ history, and the direction the adoptee community would take, was now in their hands.
VAN now boasts a membership of 340 that includes adoptees, parents, extended family and friends, all of whom play a crucial role in the adoption process. We also partner with other organizations to enrich our ties in the adoption and Vietnamese communities. VAN achieves its mission statement in the following ways:
· By creating and maintaining a network of Vietnamese adoptees;
· By building and fostering connections with those who affect our lives;
· By facilitating birth family searches and by collaborating with other Vietnamese
adoptee resources and the greater Vietnamese community;
· By sharing experiences and support;
· By cultivating tolerance of individual and ethnic differences;
· By recognizing individual self-worth;
· By promoting understanding and awareness of our native culture;
· By nurturing the growth of other Vietnamese adoptees, adolescents, and adults
through mentorship;
· By organizing future reunions and motherland tours;
· By serving as a resource to parents considering adoption, agencies working with
adoption, social workers and the media by collecting and disseminating
information relating to the adoption experience; and
· By culturally enriching our community.
Contact us today at info@van-online.org or visit the Web site at www.van-online.org to find out how VAN can be a resource to you and your family.
Bree Sibbel is the president of the Vietnamese Adoptee Network. Prior to coming to the United States, she was in the Tan Mai orphanage in Bien Hoa outside of Sai Gon. Sibbel left Vietnam on one of the last known flights on April 28, 1975. She was adopted through Catholic Charities and grew up in rural Oregon. Sibbel has traveled to Vietnam multiple times. She continues to grow in her journey to determine what it means to be a Vietnamese American.
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