Deborra-lee Furness: ‘The week that changed my life’
Why is it so hard to adopt in Australia? It’s a question Deborra-lee Furness was determined to get to the bottom of... and before she knew it, she had become a global advocate and founded Adopt Change.
I never set out to become an advocate, or thought I would end up speaking openly and often on the issue of vulnerable children, which I consider one of the world’s great injustices.
But the universe had a plan in place, so I followed my nose — and the universe led.
It began more than a decade ago. Those who knew that Hugh [husband Hugh Jackman] and I had adopted our children Oscar and Ava in the US would come up to me in the street and ask: “Why is it so hard to adopt in Australia?”
It’s a damn good question.
We had initially attended an adoption meeting in Melbourne and learnt firsthand how unnecessarily difficult the process was.
But I had travelled the world, and knew how many children would benefit from finding a safe, nurturing home.
Not long after, on a sunny day in Sydney, I set off with my to-do list: pick up the dry cleaning; do a little grocery shopping; call the editor of The Daily Telegraph and ask them to shine a light on why Australia had one of the lowest rates of adoption in the world.
I wanted an answer — for myself, and all those people asking me.
After the story was printed I was overwhelmed with interview requests, but my publicist declared I wasn’t talking to any media until I met with the prime minister!
Next thing I know, I have an advocacy group (according to the press) and am waiting to speak to the PM about our draconian adoption system.
Wow... that wasn’t the week I was expecting.
It was not a natural fit for me. I am not comfortable with confrontation, criticism and outright attack. (Who is?) Yet there I was, opening a hornet’s nest on the hugely polarising issue of adoption.
What started as National Adoption Awareness Week eventually became Adopt Change, an organisation founded in 2008 in response to the high number of children in this country and beyond who are displaced through temporary care or orphaned.
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Still today, tens of thousands of children are stuck in the statutory care system*, not knowing what it is to find permanency with their carers who are fully invested in their development.
We all have challenges, but many of us are blessed with nurturing families whose eyes reflect to us how precious we are.
The security of love helps develop self-esteem, building a child’s confidence and helping them contribute all they have to offer.
But millions of children do not get to grow up with their family of origin.
Their lives often begin in chaos; without nurture and support, they can face learning challenges, turn to drugs to dull pain and anxiety, and find themselves in tussles with the justice system.
Under the leadership of Renee Carter, Adopt Change works towards every child having access to a safe, nurturing and permanent family home.
And I’ve since co-founded advocacy group Hopeland (ourhopeland.org) in New York with Nicholas Evans, advising governments on policy innovation and how they can address the root cause of breakdown, so families can eventually find a sustainable way out of the generational loop of poverty.
This is an enormous issue around the world, and it should be a non-partisan one.
Our children need us to be the grown-ups and allow them to have a future, so they know they can realise their dreams and live happy and fulfilled lives.
*There are 47,915 children and young people in out-of-home care as of the most recent count in June 2017, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Deborra-lee is the founder of Adopt Change (adoptchange.org.au).
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