about swedish friends of children
Our role as indepentent intermediary
Our role is to be the intermediary between the child´s representative abroad and prospective adoptive parents in Sweden.
We mediate all communication between the family and the contact abroad. We have also been entrusted with choosing suitable prospective adoptive families for children with special needs, as some of our contacts abroad think that we have best knowledge of the families. Of course, it is the contact abroad that makes the final adoption decision.
We make sure that these contacts get correct adoption applications from families that match the contact´s requirements. If the contact has limited the number of applications they receive, we also keep waiting lists in Sweden. We regularly visit our contacts abroad to further develop our work.
One important issue for us is to make sure that the children’s representatives abroad get the follow-up reports that are written in Sweden.
In Sweden, we support the prospective adoptive parents during their adoption process. We inform them about the situation abroad, reminding them that adoption is all about the best interest of the child. We also assist the families in making travel arrangements if they want.
Activities besides mediating adoptions
Our biggest member activity is our annual meeting where our families can meet and exchange experiences and listen to some of our lectures. The children can also participate in some of the activities that are arranged for them.
We also have a magazine that is published quarterly. The magazine is written by the secretariat and members and the aim is to give an all-round picture of our work, to provide information about the origin countries and to report on social issues and current research on adoption.
In addition we support older children and adult adoptees seeking information about their background and country of origin. Using its contacts, Swedish Friends of Children can in some countries help by acting as an intermediary with the country of origin if the adoptees decide to seek more information on its biological relatives. There is also a possibility to apply for a financial contribution so that the adoptee is able to search for its cultural identity by travelling to its country of origin.
We also help arranging home coming trips.
History
Swedish Friends of Children was founded as a non religious, non profit organization in 1979. The initiative was taken by a group of parents who had previously managed to carry out intercountry adoptions from Sri Lanka either on their own, or through other organizations. Their aim was to give more children in Sri Lanka the opportunity to find a home in Sweden and to help more families to adopt. At that time, the organization’s name was Sri Lanka Friends of Children, SLBV, (Sri Lanka Barns Vänner), but in 1994 the organization officially changed its name to Swedish Friends of Children (Barnens Vänner) when we also started mediating adoptions from China and Taiwan.
Location and organization
The organization was founded in the north of Sweden and today, the secretariat is still located in Öjebyn, close to the city of Piteå in the northern part of Sweden. The secretariat has four employees who conduct the professional work. Our members live all over Sweden and they elect representatives to our board. The board discusses the overall questions that involve our organization.
Swedish Friends of Children is a member of both the Nordic Adoption Council (NAC) and Eur Adopt, an association of adoption organizations from 14 Western European countries. Memberships in these umbrella associations allow us to participate in the development of ideas, to compare notes and to work on issues of common concern.