Your reason to adopt might be clear cut and straightforward, whilst for others it might be more complex – some people may not even realise yet that they want to adopt a child and start a family.
Our #AdoptionMotivation series over the last month or so focused on some of the reasons why people would choose to adopt with Western Bay.
First up was Sadie:
“I work for the local YMCA. I help people with employability and life skills. I’m not currently in a relationship and thought that would hold me back, but was relieved when I looked further on Western Bay’s website.
A big thing for me is that I want to reduce my impact on the planet, especially so during these times. When I heard about the children that were waiting to be adopted in South Wales my heart was set. I made that enquiry.”
Next up was lovely couple Christie 50 and Anna 42 from Neath:
“I just feel we have so much to give. My partner Anna had a terrible time 2 years ago with a health scare and it put everything in perspective for us. She’s recovered now thankfully.
It’s fair to say we’ve both been through some stuff in life. I’m a little bit older now, but we are in a good position to share what we’ve learnt and I feel we will be great parents.”
The next segment featured an honest and frank admission,obtained from a local adopter, here’s Kelly 38 from Swansea:
“My partner Rob was raised in a big family and it’s all we’ve ever wanted. We went down the IVF route to begin. Works for some but wasn’t great for us. There was a lot of disappointment, emotional strain and of course the financial cost.
To be honest, looking back, if we knew how hard it was going to be – we would have chosen adoption as our first option.”
Joe 35, our single chef from Bridgend was next to open on his motivation:
“I don’t want to get too dramatic, but I’ve always felt like there was something missing. A gap. I’m a big believer in fate, I started seeing Western Bay’s posters and leaflets in different places and the seed was planted.
I’m just a single, ordinary bloke. I’ve never really found the one. Could I actually do this? On my own? I work hard but did I have enough money?
All these doubts surfaced. When making that initial step and enquiry – talking about and allaying these fears with a social worker helped a lot. Sharing experiences with other adopters who are going through similar also helped massively.”
Stephen 44 and Tom 35 from Bridgend shared what drove them onwards in the next segment:
“We’re both pretty driven people. I work as a nurse and Tom* works as a marketing manager. We’ve always wanted to start a family but had our doubts, unsure how we would fit it around our busy work lives.
Our families pushed us on to make the initial enquiry, especially Tom’s parents. They kept reminding us what we have to offer as parents and how they would be there for us.
They’re our rocks really, little things like preparing meals for us during introductions and being there for us after panel. Tom’s mother Liz was brilliant in finding out about things such as additional adoption leave in the run up to us making the enquiry.
I guess you can say this whole thing is built on their support – I don’t think we would have made that initial enquiry without them.”
And finally, Chris 43 and Tina 38, now residing in Neath talk about a stiring of the heart:
“We moved from London to Neath back in 2008, my grandfather was originally from Port Talbot and we never truly felt settled in London – far too hectic. As we started to put down roots we knew we made the right decision, Neath and Swansea Bay are so beautiful!
We’ve never really strongly thought about having a child in the past, but something was stirred in us that wasn’t there before. We wanted to share these wonderful places as a proper family, picnics and walks in the woods, summer time swims and paddles in sandy bays.. Tina started hearing about Western Bay on the local radio, life is far too short so we visited the website and then picked up the phone.”
Feeling motivated? Click here to find out more about adoption. Click here if you fancy talking to someone instead straightaway during office hours. Don’t forget to check out our social media for more hopefully inspiring and informative content.
**These fictitious adopters have in most cases been based on real life, local adopters first hand experiences.