"For every Madonna or Angelina Jolie, there are a thousand of our neighbors who have opened their hearts to children around the world."
John Meske, founder
John Meske’82 believes that every child has the right to a family. The problem is there are hundreds of millions orphans in the world (UNICEF recently estimated there were at least 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asian, Latin America, and the Caribbean alone) and only a small fraction of those children are finding permanent loving families.
Meske created Faith International Adoptions in 1994, a non-profit dedicated to helping orphans find the loving families there deserve. His job takes him around the word regularly – home for four weeks, gone for two – as he visit embassies, adoption authorities, and government across Asia and Africa.But his career path started in a very difference place. After graduating from Saint Martin’s with a degree in political science, he attended the University of Puget Sound Law School (now Seattle University Law School) and became a lawyer with the King County Prosecutor’s Office. For the three years he was there, he focused on prosecuting sexual and physical abuse cases involving children.
"The hardest part was looking at the autopsies or photos of physical harm to children. It just stayed with you, and it wore you down. i want to help children and keep them from suffering through that."
John Meske, founder
Meske began doing pro-bono legal work for Christian ministry groups who were trying to help families in the U.S. adopt from aboard. “When the Romanian government fell at the end of 1980s, I started helping ministry groups arrange for adoptions.”
Not many years later, he formed Faith International Adoptions. “Adoptions go in cycles. Most people who have thought to unite with a child look to China. At one point, Americans were doing 10,000 to 12,000 adoptions from China a year, but now China has reduced their adoptions to about 3,000 annually. The focus now is trying to get people consider children with special needs, like cleft lip or a hole in the heart – conditions that a new family can have remedied.
“Outside of China, Russia continues to produce several thousand orphan a year. And we have programs in Vietnam, Nepal, and Mexico as well. Even in the U.S., though, there are 240,000 children available for adoption.”
The ideal of international adoptions has been more common, thanks to the media attention of celebrities like Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Dan Marino adopting from aboard. “For every star, there are thousand of neighbors who have open their hearts o children from around the world,” said Meske. He was quickly to point out that even the starts have to go through rigorous assessment and follow the same steps as everyone else interested in adoption.
Because of the possibility for exploitation, the international adoption process is carefully monitored both by international agencies and the U.S. Government. Faith International Adoptions is accredited under the Hague Treaty as a Child Relief Agency and is one of the leading organizations arranging for adoptions. They regularly work with UNICEF and Save the Children on adoptions, and Meske himself travels the world regularly to speak about protecting children.
Since 1994, Faith International Adoptions has grown in both scale and its mission. They have eight staff members at their Tacoma headquarters and another 10 around the world. In addition to its adoption services, they also have medical relief teams, water purification teams, and minister to displace or homeless children. In addition, Faith International Adoptions was the first international relief team to enter Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami.
For families considering adoption, Meske said that they benefit almost as much as the placed orphan, through the wonderful child they receive and the joy that comes through welcoming them into a family. It is something Meske can speak to personally; he and his wife adopted internationally. “I’ve walked those steps,” he said. “When I counsel families, it’s easier because I’ve done it.”
Meske believes that his experience at Saint Martin’s helped cement his idea of compassion for the less fortunate and his desire to help orphans and homeless children. “The school was a tight-knit, compassionate group of people. My classmate are sill my friends today.” He also remembered the education and compassionate spirits of Father Killian and Father John Scott as influence in his life.
“It doesn’t matter the color or appearance of a child,” Meske said. “The child in need of a loving family is what’s important. They’ve been through trauma of suffering, and no child should have to go through that, but by the millions they are.
“We want people to become aware of that, and hope that they will open their heart to a child who needs a permanent loving family.”
“Outside of China, Russia continues to produce several thousand orphan a year. And we have programs in Vietnam, Nepal, and Mexico as well. Even in the U.S., though, there are 240,000 children available for adoption.”
The ideal of international adoptions has been more common, thanks to the media attention of celebrities like Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Dan Marino adopting from aboard. “For every star, there are thousand of neighbors who have open their hearts o children from around the world,” said Meske. He was quickly to point out that even the starts have to go through rigorous assessment and follow the same steps as everyone else interested in adoption.
Because of the possibility for exploitation, the international adoption process is carefully monitored both by international agencies and the U.S. Government. Faith International Adoptions is accredited under the Hague Treaty as a Child Relief Agency and is one of the leading organizations arranging for adoptions. They regularly work with UNICEF and Save the Children on adoptions, and Meske himself travels the world regularly to speak about protecting children.
Since 1994, Faith International Adoptions has grown in both scale and its mission. They have eight staff members at their Tacoma headquarters and another 10 around the world. In addition to its adoption services, they also have medical relief teams, water purification teams, and minister to displace or homeless children. In addition, Faith International Adoptions was the first international relief team to enter Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami.
For families considering adoption, Meske said that they benefit almost as much as the placed orphan, through the wonderful child they receive and the joy that comes through welcoming them into a family. It is something Meske can speak to personally; he and his wife adopted internationally. “I’ve walked those steps,” he said. “When I counsel families, it’s easier because I’ve done it.”
Meske believes that his experience at Saint Martin’s helped cement his idea of compassion for the less fortunate and his desire to help orphans and homeless children. “The school was a tight-knit, compassionate group of people. My classmate are sill my friends today.” He also remembered the education and compassionate spirits of Father Killian and Father John Scott as influence in his life.
“It doesn’t matter the color or appearance of a child,” Meske said. “The child in need of a loving family is what’s important. They’ve been through trauma of suffering, and no child should have to go through that, but by the millions they are.
“We want people to become aware of that, and hope that they will open their heart to a child who needs a permanent loving family.”
Source: Hanberg Erik, Alumni Profile, insights, Saint Martin's University, Washington, Spring 2010
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