OAK PARK ADOPTION AGENCY ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM

OAK PARK ADOPTION AGENCY ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Adoption-Link will partner with Acres of Hope/The African Alliance for Life to provide hope to orphaned children in the DRC

Adoption-Link, a full service Hague-accredited adoption agency in Oak Park, Illinois, has joined forces with Acres of Hope (AOH), a charitable organization dedicated to supporting vulnerable people in Liberia. Recently AOH expanded its mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, calling its program there The African Alliance for Life.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, is the second largest country in Africa with a population of nearly 72 million. Despite a wealth of natural resources, the country has experienced devastating political instability and over 5 million DRC citizens have perished due to war and associated famine and disease. The African Alliance for Life will work with authorities to identify and find help for vulnerable children, including the verification of orphan status for children who have lost their families.

"The goal of our new partnership is to aid and support families and orphans in the DRC through social responsibility and, where approrpirate, adoption," noted Noreen Davidson, Executive Director of Adoption-Link.

Stephanie Francois, Director of International Programs for Adoption-Link, commented on the new relationship. "We are so excited about our new DRC program. We are partnering with an established organization with a huge heart for the DRC and Africa. We look forward to finding families for the many children awaiting permanent, loving homes."

Potential adoptive families who may be interested in the DRC Program can find detailed information on the Adoption-Link website www.adoption-link.org. DRC will accept qualified families consisting of married couples or single women.

Adoption-Link is accepting new applications from qualified adoptive families for ALL of its programs, including DRC. Families interested in adopting from DRC are invited to contact Ms. Francois at the Adoption-Link office, 708-524-1433, or by email at Stephanie.Francois@adoption-link.org.

Adoption-Link provides quality services for all in the adoption triad: birth parents, children and adoptive families. We specialize in domestic and international adoption and humanitarian services for African, African-American, multiracial, and HIV+ and other special needs children. We believe that all children have a right to a loving home.

Adoption-Link offers adoption services including home study servies (international and domestic), a domestic program and an established Haiti program. Adoption-Link is one of only 19 agencies in the United States approved by Haiti's central adoption authority to provide adoption services in that country.

For more information about Adoption-Link, please contact Erin Collin at 708-524-1433 or email Erin.Collin@adoption-link.org.