Adoption!

Look... I am NOT your father!

Every "day" there are more than almost 6 thousand orphans in the world who need a home according to UNICEF. The causes of this vary but they could be due to HIV/AIDS that takes one or both of the parents, poverty which leads to lower education, corruption in the government which turns a blind-eye to human-trafficking, difficult process for adoption, and war which explains itself. That, is how it is worldwide. Fortunately in Taiwan, we do not encounter such harsh conditions and therefore, the number of orphans went from more than 200 in 1993 to less than 10 in 2018, information given by the MOI.

What makes a home for children? Is it the house, clothes, or food on the table? It is none of the above. It is love from the parent(s). To go through the process of adoption, first comes the external formality because we cannot quantify an abstract idea such as love yet. If you would like to adopt a child in Taiwan, your age needs to stay within 50 years of gap between the child, married for at least 2 years, healthy & no bad habits, affluent enough, and is able to provide documents like the household certificate, proof of financial resources(including credit report from both sides, tax return, and employment certificate), proof of employment, real estate certificate/banking information within 3 months, everyday photos, criminal records, and a health condition report. While none of that can actually prove anything but it is what they try to lower the risks and help a child. The system isn't perfect but it's what we've got.

-age gap</=50 of the adoptee

-if married, more than 2 years

-mentally&phisically healthy and without bad habits

-financially able as a provider of children

-willingness to provide the documents below and acceptance from all family members

->household certificate

->proof of financial resources(credit report, tax return, and employment certificate)

->proof of employment

->real estate certificate

->health checklist

No, these won't prove much but perhaps exclude the least qualified candidates. Though the best a child can receive is not necessary the best parents, we can at least not give them the worst.

An emotional bond is more than that of blood. To many people still, having a child means the child comes from you and your wife and not just one of you. What this indicates is the blind focus on blood relations. People tend to cling to the notion of "mine". It is not easy to love others as you love yourself but if you think beyond this, you'll find that you don't necessarily love yourself that much anyways. Thus, it's a false rebuttal, an excuse to say that one can only love his/her own child because love is universal; you either have it or you don't. The same can be applied to everything, namely the love for dogs and animals, that for yourself and people, and that for the concept of love.

We often sympathize or even patronize orphan kids, at least before they achieve greatness. What makes them any poorer than us? Is it because we didn't live in an orphanage or that we were not adopted? Again, as mentioned earlier, having a parent or parents does not mean ANYTHING, not even good. The subtlety lies in... you guessed it, the big L. That said, we understand the feeling of unintentional superiority.

Your child may not be yours after all and the adopted could well be yours all along. By now, you will have understood what makes one become an orphan. It isn't the choice of the children but instead, those who brought them to life, those who were morally responsible to them but emotionally abandoned them, as a result, physically as well. There are no excuses... EVER, for instance, the causes from the 1st paragraph, unless natural or accidental death. If you messed up, it's no one else's fault but yours because every child's birth is a deliberate choice of action, even if it was against your will. You and your partner, offender, or you alone have created life, with your soul, no matter the circumstances, you brought light to this little thing. Without it, it's the same or worse than murder.

You don't have to love children; you don't even have to love yourself. Let the people who have love, bring more love to the world.

#selfreflect