Cherish Our Children International

Leah Spring, who is at this very moment bringing home her third adopted son with Down Syndrome from Serbia, also runs an info blog about Serbian adoption.  In her first adoption, she was burned by some corrupt agents and facilitators, and after working to expose and clean up the culprits, she educated herself about the Serbian process, which was transformed at the same time.  These days, all adoptions must be processed directly by the government Ministry of Justice -- no outside agencies are allowed. The process is very streamlined, taking only a few months altogether, with just about 3 weeks in-country.  Cutting out the middlemen has slashed costs, as well. An average Serbian adoption now costs $10-15K, less than half of most other countries.

Most adoptive families, however, are reluctant to proceed without the handholding of a knowledgeable agency.  Here is where Cherish Our Children International (COCI) comes in.  This is a non-profit organization with projects around the world, ranging from providing medical care and education to children in Kenya to sponsoring Jewish/Arab integrated soccer leagues for disadvantaged kids in Israel to helping incarcerated youths in Texas break the cycle of crime.  In Serbia, they work to improve the quality of life for institutionalized orphans, especially those with special needs.  As part of that, they assist adoptive parents with the logistics of the in-country process free of charge.

However, they also have projects aimed at helping integrate children with special needs into their society at home.  With minimal manpower, they find ways to make a difference in the lives of families, so that children with disabilities are able to have their needs met at home, in the care of their loving families, instead of being institutionalized for life.  Here is a 2-part video showing the kind of work they do: