Welcome to The Archibald Project’s very first Blogcast! We've been toying around with the idea of recording our blogs for a while so that everyone who would like to participate in our stories would have an easy way to do so. We’ve found that people love blogs but often do not have the time to fully read a post. However, podcasts are on the rise and are an easy way to consume information. We won't be recording every blog post from here on out, as we don’t want to fill up you iTunes or blast your subscription notifications, but we are planning on featuring blogcasts as a way to introduce a new series or an important story that we believe needs more attention than a traditional blog post.
That being said, you can either download this blogcast and listen to it at a later date... such as while you’re driving, working out, cleaning etc, or you can opt out of listening and read the entry below. We’d love to hear your feedback on our new idea, so please comment below or on our social media and let us know if you like TAP incorporating blogcasts!
Thanks!
Welcome back to Around the World with The Archibald Project! In today's episode we bring you with us into Chinese foster home on the outskirts of Beijing, China!
Bethel China is a home for visually impaired orphaned and vulnerable children and they are doing wonderful work towards educating and equipping the up and coming generation. A few weeks ago we traveled to China to document the adoption of a 13-year-old boy who is blind and also grew up at Bethel.
While we were documenting the adoption we were able to sit down with two of the employees of Bethel, Anna and Tabitha and interview them!
In this podcast, we learn why children are abandoned in China, how Bethel's education for visually impaired children is working to keep families together, we help break down some of the fears and preconceived ideas around adopting special needs and/or boys and much more!
You will be so inspired listening to this podcast, and be sure to stay tuned until the end because Anna and Tabitha give you all ways to get involved with the incredible organization that is Bethel.
We have continued on from May's National Foster Care month to share even more inspiring foster stories. One huge part of the system are the children who age out without ever finding a forever home. Today we get to talk with one of those children, Carlina Shotwell.
During our time with Carlina we talk about the day when she and her four siblings were separated, the different homes she was placed, the raw emotions she felt and still feels today, her current relationship with her biological mother, and the book she wrote to inform and inspire people about the desire foster youth have for a family!
Carlina is honest and inspiring; she knows the system was created as a good thing to help children but also wants to shed light on the problems it holds within. This podcast will make you laugh while still informing you of how some youth deal with being placed and passed through foster care.
Definitely stay through until the end to hear about one of Carlina's recent accomplishments! Sit back, relax, and enjoy our interview with Carlina!
May is National Foster Care Month in the states and we’ve been bringing you first hand stories about the system all month long. On our blog we’ve had foster parents, siblings and volunteers share their wisdom and experience and on our podcast we’ve interviewed an adult who aged out of the foster care system and a single foster mom.
In today’s interview we hear how one successful couple opened their home to vulnerable children only to be changed for the better.
Today we hear Cara’s passion about giving her entire heart to her children, we hear the couple’s desire for more people to get involved in foster care, we discuss how foster care has changed their biological children for the better, we hear about what it was like bringing a 14 year old into their home and how they have fallen head over heels for her!
Cara and Nick are so honest and share their initial fears about foster care. If you or anyone you know has ever thought about fostering then this is the podcast for you!
In today's episode of Around the World with The Archibald Project we are so excited to introduce you to single Foster and Adoptive mom, Millie Holloman! Millie started her foster journey 3 years ago as a single 33 year old photographer living in North Carolina.
Through out 8 placements she found 2 of her children, a little girl who was adopted this past March and her son whom she will adopt soon!
During our interview with Millie we find out what prompted her to enter foster care initially, we find out what emotions and experiences she's had with children entering her home aging from 5 weeks to 20 years old and we hear her heartfelt wisdom about consistently showing and extending love to vulnerable children.
If you’ve ever considered getting involved in Foster Care, even as a volunteer and not a parent, this podcast is for you!
Oh, and yes, this sweet girl above might look familiar, as you've probably seen her on Good Morning America or a famous blog circulating your social media feeds :)
Below are the photos Millie talks about in the podcast that ultimately took her adoption viral and landed her and sweet Wren on Good Morning America and other news shows around the nation.
May in National Foster Care Awareness month and we are so honored to start the month off with our guest today, Meaghan Martin, who is a former foster youth. Megan shares with us today what led to her entering the foster care system on her 15th birthday, what it was like entering new homes and how she over came the odds and is a strong and successful woman today.
Certain websites claim that Burkina Faso, a small country in Western Africa, is the 4th poorest country in the world. And where you have extreme poverty, you have vulnerable families and orphaned children, often in excessive numbers.
This past April we spent 8 days in this desert country, sweating in the 107 degree weather, and learning as much as we could about it's orphan crisis. Now, 8 days may not seem like a lot of time to the average person, but we've spent the last 5 years developing a keen sense and particular knowledge in the world of ethical orphan care. We know the questions to ask and the signs of dishonesty or corruption. So let me say this: The people and organizations we met in Burkina Faso are honest, ethical and incredibly needed. Not they type of "need" that pushes its way into a community, unwelcomed and shouting how to "change", rather these organizations are coming alongside the government, local Burkina Bay leaders and communities and partnering together, hand in hand, and they are doing their best. Because let's be honest, there's not a lot of aid in this country and people are struggling.
However, Streams of Burkina Faso has an orphan care portion of their organization and they are raising up the local villagers to foster and care for orphans. They are not an orphanage, rather they find families willing to care for vulnerable children until that child can be safely resettled back with it's biological family!
We got an email months ago about an inquiry for what we thought was an orphanage in Ethiopia. However, the further we read on about Selamta Family Project, the more we came to realize that Selamta was not an orphanage at all.
Selamta Family Project is a holistic orphan care organization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capitol, working to ensure that orphaned children have forever families.
This means that instead of having an orphanage, Selamta employees marginalized women to be full time mothers and aunties to 8-10 children per household. Each mom becomes a real mom. They don't clock in or out, they don't leave after a few years. Selamta makes new families out of broken people so that they might find love, community and safety amongst each other.
Once we realized this was the model Selamta employed we knew we had to get to Ethiopia as soon as possible!
Enjoy our podcast interview with Executive Director, Marisa Stam, on the balcony of the community center in Addis! Lots of street noise will help you feel like you're right there with us!
To follow more of Selamta's journey, visit:
Selamta's Website: www.selamtafamilyproject.org
Selamta's Instagram: @selamtaproject
Selamta's Facebook: facebook.com/selamtafamilyproject
When I first received Wellon Bridgers' email about documenting their adoption, I was skeptical. We were living in Uganda and were in the middle of seeing so many hard and real situations of unethical orphan care. So we straight up asked Wellon why the children she was adopting needed to be adopted and how could she ensure they were truly operating inside an ethical adoption.
Her answers blew us away. She shared about how they came to find Mwana Villages, the organization in the Republic of the Congo where their children lived and how only after a broken adoption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo did they come to learn that many children living in orphanages and up for adoption had birth families who loved and wanted their children. Her love and admiration for Mwana was not centered around her adoption but how Mwana cares passionately for vulnerable women and works to keep families together.
Since we traveled with the Bridgers to the Congo, which you can see their adoption journey in photos here and in video here, Wellon has gone to work, stateside, for Mwana, advocating for vulnerable women and children and working to ensure that families can stay together!
In our podcast today with Wellon we hear why caring for birth families is a must, how Mwana ensures that they are operating ethically (they turned down an offer from an adoption agency for $10,000 a kid!!!), and how Mwana is making a lasting difference in the Congo!
In this wisdom filled interview with adoptive parents, Kayla and Jonny Craig you hear about their desire to love their kids well, how they've grown from seeing their son persevere through pain and why they choose a life of faithfulness over comfort!
If you've ever thought about adoption and wondered if you could do it, we know this podcast is for you! The Craigs help us understand what it's like to adopt and parent a child with needs and share knowledge from a road made by walking. You can find more of our inspirational orphan care stories at www.thearchibaldproject.com
In episode 20 of Around the World with The Archibald Project, you will hear profound wisdom spoken from a 20 year old woman who has known deep pain and experienced the power of healing, redemptive love. Julia was adopted from Russia at one years old and then placed into foster care after coming to the states. The pain she has known is unimaginable but we are so thankful for her willingness to share her story with us.
To hear more orphan care stories, please visit www.thearchibaldproject.com
An insightful interview with birth family advocate, Michelle Conner. During our time with Michelle, we discuss how you really can't judge someone when you don't know their whole story, how majority of the time parents truly do want to keep their children, and how you can help support vulnerable families! Enjoy our podcast with Michelle!
During our time with Kaley Eggers we share why she decided to foster as a single woman, why she believes its so important to care, love and support birth families and how she felt about adopting her son. Not to mention Kaley was on an episode of Fixer Upper and has a Youtube channel! All of the links and social media handles will be on www.thearchibaldproject.com/podcast
In today's podcast we introduce you to Jessica and Joe Honegger! Some of you might know Jessica as the founder of the incredibly successful fair-trade: Noonday Collection, but today we're taking you behind the scenes! Learn how Jessica and Joe met and fell in love, hear how they decided on international adoption and of course we talk about how Noonday was founded! The Honeggers also share some helpful advice about the adoption journey and share what was harder and what was easier in adoption than they might have anticipated.
Also, remember, we exist to end the orphan crisis but we can only do this together! Which means we would love to have you share our podcast with your friends and family so that other might be inspired to care for the orphan!
Thanks guys! Now enjoy our time with the Honeggers!
In today's interview we bring you Katie and Benji Majors. Katie is a New York Times Best Selling Author for her book Kisses From Katie. However, during our time with the Majors we take you beyond the book and bring you their perspective on getting married in Uganda, what it was like adopting 13 girls as a single twenty something, becoming a new husband and dad to 13 girls, running their organization, Amazima and some invaluable lessons they've learned along the way!
For the entire month of May, our orphan care nonprofit, The Archibald Project has been sharing real and raw stories of the U.S. foster care system with the hopes of educating and inspiring you to get involved in the lives of our country’s vulnerable children! So far we’ve brought you blog posts from foster parents, CASA volunteers, babysitters to foster families and podcast interviews with an adult adoptee, a foster care director, a foster care judge and now, to end the month, a foster care father!
We’ve been sharing new stories every week day on our blog www.thearchibaldproject.com/blog and have had such a wonderful response that we are going to continue the stories into June, so make sure you stick around!
However, today, we bring you a very insightful conversation with a foster care father by the name of Randy Doleman, who started a nonprofit centered around building community for foster and adoptive families.
In our interview with Randy we hear what made him take the plunge into foster care, what advice he would give parents just entering the foster care, what advice he would give to a friend of a foster family, why he believes community is essential in orphan care and about his amazing nonprofit, The Orphan Care Network!
So sit back, relax and enjoy our time with Randy!
In today’s interview we cover how Judge Martinez Jones actually became a judge, what the legal system is when a child is removed from their home, how the system works with biological families, why family visits and bonding are so important, and how to best approach a loving and healthy relationship with a child of trauma and their biological family.
In today’s episode we cover what you need to know about the foster care system works, why children are taken from their families, insight on birth parent’s perspectives, some beautiful moments of healing in children of trauma, how you can learn more about fostering in your state and what the first steps are to get more information on foster care!
Around the World with The Archibald Project kicks off National Foster Care Month with an interview with adult adoptee from foster care, Jeanette Jolley. Jeanette takes us through the emotions of growing up knowing she was adopted but not knowing where she came from or her family heritage. Jolly sheds an important light on using your life and skills to advocate for others and even shares about the time she met her birth mom on live T.V. with Richard Simmons.
Jeanette is a television producer and has worked on shows such as: Emmy award winning Extreme Home Make Over, Blue Collar Millionaires, the CMA Red Carpet and countless others! Jeanette is passionate about using her life to advocate for orphans and vulnerable children and we are so excited to bring you her inspiring interview today!
Some of you may know Jamie Ivey and her incredibly fun podcast, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of listening to Jamie’s personal podcast and reading her witty blog posts, Ivey is a 37 year old mother of 4 who has learned how to walk through life, adoption, marriage and motherhood with a lot of grace and humor.
Today in our interview with Jamie we take you behind the scenes and ask her some personal and fun questions that will leave you surprised by her answers! Find out what advice this mom, who has adopted 3 children, would give to a newly adoptive family, what she wishes she would have known 6 years ago as she brought home two children from Haiti, what you would discover if you were a fly on her wall, and how she does it all! Seriously y’all, she does it all. Blogger, Podcaster, speaker, emcee, wife, mom, friend, AND to top it all off, she’s adding book author to the list!
We’ll also have links to Jamie's website and social media outlets on our website, www.thearchibaldproject.com/
Enjoy!
In Episode 10 we interview Bryan and Sherry Lopez from the jewelry company, Lovishly. During this episode we hear how these young parents ended up adopting 3 identical triplet boys with some pretty severe needs...each was born weighing a pound and was smaller than a coke can. After 90 doctor visits in the first few months of having these boys the Lopez family began the adoption process of twins from Uganda. While Bryan was overseas bonding with the twins Sherry received the most shocking news, she was pregnant and her unborn child might now live past birth. Their story doesn't stop there, but to hear more, please check out our episode 10 podcast with Bryan and Sherry Lopez!
This is episode 9 where we interview birth mom, Callie Jett from Talk about Adoption. This interview is a little different than previous interviews because today, we get to hear a birth mom’s perspective of placing her child up for adoption. We know talking about adoption and abortion and a mother’s rights can be a hot topic so we just want to encourage you all to hear Callie’s heart and learn about her organization Talk About Adoption. If we notice any negative remarks regarding Callie’s decisions we just want you to know they will be removed, as this is a place for an open and honest discussion and not a place for politics. Also, if you’re in the room or car with your adopted children and they aren’t familiar with the terms adoption, birth mother, placement or abortion this is just a heads up that all of these topics will be covered in today’s episode.
We’re so inspired by Callie’s testimony and desire to love expectant mothers and to help make teach all birth mothers about adoption and parenting. If you know someone who is a birth mom or who might be facing and unexpected or unwanted pregnancy please share this podcast with them as it’s cloaked with lots of resources. We’ll also have links to Callie’s website and social media outlets on our website, www.thearchibaldproject.com/
Today we introduce you to Colleen, a 22 year old, volunteer foster mom to 6 handicapped orphans in India.
In our podcast we learn from the Rices about domestic, private adoption and hear their journey of finding the best way for them to start their family. They share raw honesty about fears and hopes and the relationship they've formed with their son’s birth mother.
Meet Sara and BJ Brawner. In this podcast you hear the realness behind two foster parents trying to daily navigate a hard system in a broken world. If you've ever wondered if you could do it, if you could foster, please take a moment to listen to this important and inspiring podcast.