A message from Suzanne and Patrick:
Twenty-four years ago we adopted the first of our three girls from China; it will be no surprise to hear that Jill hosted a party for us not long after. Now two of our girls are interested in searching for their birth families. There is a lot of anxiety surrounding a search like this since some of us may learn that our children were trafficked or that their families were pressured to turn over their children rather than freely relinquishing them to orphanages. Nonetheless, with the help of Brian and Lan Stuy of DNAConnect, dozens of families are working together to circulate photos of their children throughout China in hopes that family members might come forward and undergo DNA testing via 23andMe. This very short movie is designed to be circulated in towns In the Fujian province of China. (To date, 785 birth families have been identified and 122 matches have been made.) As I put together these photos (which Jill helped edit) I was touched by the change in the faces from worried or dreamy babies to confident and lovely young women. Fingers crossed.
P.S. If you happen to know any private citizens or college students in China, please ask them to circulate this video via WeChat or other social media outlets.