Ukraine's most precious resource: Ukrainian child adopted from Russian orphanage (11/24/96)

Ukraine's most precious resource: Ukrainian child adopted from Russian orphanage

by Khristina Lew

FARMINGTON, Conn. - For most American families wanting to adopt a child from Ukraine, the country's extended moratorium on adoptions by foreigners proved an insurmountable hurdle. Some chose to wait out the 18-month ban. Others resigned themselves to adopting a child from Russia.

Natalie and Lee Pollock chose to pursue the Russian route in January of this year, with the stipulation that the child be of Ukrainian parentage. Working against all odds, their agency, the Cradle of Hope Adoption Center, an international adoption agency in Washington that had placed Ukrainian children with American families prior to the moratorium, managed to identify a Ukrainian child in a Moscow orphanage in the spring. By July, 17-month-old Nina had found a home in this affluent suburb of Hartford.

"Only someone with a great deal of tenacity could accomplish what Natalie accomplished," said Mr. Pollock of his wife's determination to adopt a Ukrainian child. "Everyone was trying to talk us out of finding a Ukrainian child in a Russian orphanage, but Linda [Perilstein, executive director of Cradle of Hope] and Natalie kept it going."

Mrs. Pollock had reasons of her own for wanting a Ukrainian child. Born Natalie Korsheniuk, she grew up in the Ukrainian community of Hartford. "Not having participated in Ukrainian community life for some time, I felt that adopting a Ukrainian child was my way of giving something back. If I could take all the children in Ukrainian orphanages, I would," she said.

The Pollocks had tried to adopt a child from Ukraine in the summer of 1995, only to find that the July 1994 moratorium on adoptions by foreigners was still in place. They waited six months, hoping that the ban in Ukraine would be lifted. In January they asked Cradle of Hope to find them a Ukrainian child in a Russian orphanage.

"For any agency, the more narrow you are, the more difficult their job is. We were very narrow - we wanted a child with at least one parent who was Ukrainian. Linda really felt for us," said Mrs. Pollock.

Ms. Perilstein recalls the Pollocks being very clear on wanting to adopt a Ukrainian child. "Fortunately, Nina was living in a Russian orphanage, so we were thrilled to match her with a family of Ukrainian ancestry," she said.

Nina, whose birth mother is from Ternopil, was identified in the spring. In June, the Pollocks and their 7-year-old daughter, Talia, traveled to Moscow to meet her.

The Pollocks talked of their fear of meeting Nina for the first time. The medical report provided by the orphanage said she had rickets of the third degree. Her feet turned purple when her socks and pants were taken off. She weighed 13 pounds at the age of 16 months.

"We had some unsettling moments. It was a tough experience for all of us. She couldn't walk, she couldn't hold her weight. She was so undernourished. We kept wondering what condition she really was in, whether we could take care of her. It was a big leap of faith," Mrs. Pollock said.

Oddly enough, it was Talia who sealed Nina's fate as a member of the Pollock family. "She never hesitated for a second. She never wavered," said Mr. Pollock.

The Pollocks returned to Farmington to await the processing of adoption documents in Moscow. One month later, in July, Mrs. Pollock traveled back to Moscow for nine days to conclude the adoption.

Cradle of Hope provided her with an adoption coordinator, an interpreter, a driver and a place to stay. She was allowed to visit with Nina for one hour, four out of six days. "In that one week of feeding her and giving her vitamins, her appearance changed drastically," she recalled.

A week after Nina arrived in Farmington she had gained 2 pounds. Subsequent X-rays of Nina's wrists and knees revealed she never had rickets. Mrs. Pollock explained that Nina's medical records exaggerated potential physical problems in order to expedite her adoption. Those who work in international adoptions agree this is common practice.

At 20 months Nina weighed 22 pounds. According to her parents, she eats "everything," plays "peek-a-boo" with Talia, and in early October began walking. "It's like watering a flower and watching it bloom," said Mr. Pollock.

Cradle of Hope Adoption Center, in conjuction with Family Service of West Chester, will hold an information meeting on international adoptions in White Plains, N.Y., on February 3, 1997. For more information call (914) 948-8151. Additional information meetings will be held in New Jersey, Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis in the future. For more information call Cradle of Hope, (301) 587-4400.