The time crunch facing China’s orphans

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02:15

Adoption is a long and arduous endeavor in any country. In China, the adoption law adds extra urgency to the process, since it states that only children under the age of 14 can be adopted.

Tommy and Laura Thompson are an American couple, who spent over a year in China volunteering at an orphanage, where they saw countless examples of children nearing the worrying 14-year mark. They adopted a child from China themselves, and so have personal experience of a process that took them two years to complete.

Part of the time is taken up settling worries that a child may have been trafficked and is not a genuine orphan. A photograph of Tommy and Laura's prospective daughter had to be circulated in the area where she was originally found, to see if someone might recognize and claim her.

"They have to advertise the child to the public of that area, so they can speak up and claim their child before they're internationally adopted," explained Laura.

"It actually is two or three months [process], they're advertised for a bit. So they'll have a current picture, say this child was found in this place on this date, you can have them now."

Thirty-one American families with their Chinese adopted children gather in Beijing for a root-seeking trip for the children in China, July 2, 2013. /VCG Photo

If no one comes forward, once the window closes the child becomes available, which was the case with Tommy and Laura's daughter.

"It was a really emotional time of, 'well, if the family wants them, please take her… But we want her, too'," remembered Laura.

"So just trying to figure that out is hard. But nobody stepped up to claim her, and so then she was available for international adoption."

During their time at the orphanage, Laura and Tommy became painfully aware that, with the age limit of 14 looming large over their heads, some of the children would not be as fortunate as their new daughter.

"There is a rush for some of the older children – because it does take a while to do an international adoption," said Laura.

"You're hitting 12, you're hitting 13, we really need to get going on this. We've had children that have had a family matched but the family couldn't get here in time and it fell through and they were no longer adoptable."

To reduce the chances of children slipping through the adoption net, the couple decided to make advocacy videos for them, which they place on social media.

"As we know how long this process can take, when we see these kids turning 10, especially 12, we are more on a time crunch," Tommy explained.

"We need to work hard to get these kids out there so people can see them."