The Department of Social Welfare and Development Office (DSWD) Field Office 7 through its Adoption Resource and Referral Section (ARRS) held an opening salvo of the 2018 Adoption Consciousness Celebration with the theme “Pagmamahal Palaganapin, Legal na Pag-aampon Ating Gawin!” (Spread unconditional love through Legal Adoption).

Around 200 individuals coming from different participating agencies and child caring agencies have attended the kick-off activity on Monday, February 12, 2018 which comprises a motorcade that started from Plaza Independencia on the way to SM City Cebu where the opening program was held.

During the program, there were also series of dance and song presentations of children from different partner child caring agencies such as the Asilo de la Milagrosa, Albert Schweitzer Familienwerk Foundation, Franciscan’s Children Home and NORFIL foundation.

Assistant Regional Director for Operations Shalaine Marie Lucero during her welcome remarks for the opening salvo of Adoption Consciousness Celebration 2018, encouraged all parents to start educating their children the value and importance of adoption. This is to help adopted children in school or in the community to be completely accepted and understood by other children.

“Many of the communities are still not able to accept and understand adoption. This is why it is important that parents should be advocates in promoting the value and importance of adoption to their children and other people in the community,” said ARDO Lucero.

ARDO Lucero has also expressed gratitude to foster parents and adoptive parents who bravely took the challenge in providing a nurturing environment to adoptees conducive to their physical, mental, social and emotional health growth.

DSWD 7 have successfully placed a number of children into legal adoption, locally and internationally.

Two adoptees of the successful child placements that DSWD 7 have made had their inspiring testimonies during the short program of the opening salvo.

An adopted child also positively highlighted during her testimony that with the nurturing environment of adoptive families, being an adopted child doesn’t make you any less loved nor does it make you any different from those children living with their biological parents.

As DSWD VII celebrates Adoption Consciousness Week, the department strongly aims to encourage couples interested in adopting a child to visit the field office, undergo the legal process of adoption and avoid simulated birth adoption to stand with the theme: “Spread unconditional love through legal adoption.” ###

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