| Charles
A. Nichols
 |
While navigating through the Internet, I came upon a book entitled "Orphan Boy" written by Charles Nichols. Curious to know more, I opened communications with Charles through email and discovered a brave human being who is willing to take that extra step to make a difference in this world.
In his own words he says, "As a child I not only suffered abandonment, but also mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual abuses." This inspired him, through the encouragement of friends, to write and self-publish his story in order to create awareness of child abuse and, in particular, in the orphanages and foster homes.
Charles is now on the speaking circuit, telling his story, helping others cope with their past abuses, and opening up the truths of institutions that are not well monitored.
Charles A. Nichols can be reached at
P.O. Box 5702 • Spartanburg, S.C. 29304-5702
http://www.easternx.com/cnichols.htm |
Lynn Price
| |
On May 1, 2000 Lynn Price
was honored on the
Oprah Winfrey Show for her outstanding work in reuniting siblings
who had been separated through foster parenting. She was 8 years
old when she found out that she was an orphan (foster child) and
had a sister who lived on the other side of the town that she lived
in. Lynn knew early on the importance of sibling bonding and as
an adult has dedicated her life to reuniting siblings that have
been separated through the system of foster care. She created the
Camp To Belong which
"is a year-round national non-profit all volunteer organization
dedicated to reuniting brothers and sisters placed in different
foster homes for events of fun, emotional empowerment and sibling
connection. We serve as emissary, intermediary and champion for
the rights of siblings in foster care." |
Bill Ritchotte
 |
William (Bill) Ritchotte was removed by (CPS) Child Protection Services at 5 months old. He was placed in 5 different foster homes before the age of 5. Out of those homes, only one treated him with love and warmth. From the ages of 5 to 18 he was placed on a work farm. This farm supplied goods for the war effort and never in 50 years had to pay a laborer. The foster children were the laborers. The abuses he endured are indescribable and yet he managed to pick himself up, joined the Navy and later obtained a Bachelor degree in Human Services from New Hampshire college. What kept him going? "When I needed love I would remember my Foster Parents from Marlboro, Massachusetts and how much love they gave and it was enough to sustain me through all the trauma." Now he is an advocate for change in the foster parenting system and has developed an online foster children support chat room at http://communities.msn.com/FormerOrphanFosterChildrenSupportGroup
You can reach Bill through email at: billrbill@hotmail.com |
Dylan
Rodner
|
Dylan
was 6 yrs. old when he left Korea to be adopted by an American
family. Raised in a family with a healthcare background,
Dylan chose to go into that field as well. He has a MPAS
(Masters as a Physician Assistant Scientist) and loves what
he is doing. In fact, I first met him because he was assigned
to me as my PA. I was impressed with Dylan from the beginning.
His manner of communicating with patients includes humor
and real concern. He listens and and truly cares about each
patient he is assigned to. I credit him with "curing"
my Lyme Disease.
We talked about his being an orphan and the cross-culture
adoptions that are happening in the U.S. He feels that there
should be better understanding of what this means to others.
A major issue in the cross-culture adoption is often a sense
of "not belonging" which is already a common emotion
with most adoptees.
Dylan also told me that wherever he goes, he meets an adoptee.
Very coincidental - perhaps this is his true mission in
life. Who knows? But for now, Dylan loves what he is doing
and loves the medical field.
Words of wisdom from Dylan: "Your
potential in life has nothing to do with your background.
It is the drive within. Adoption does not stop you from
living your life in that it is probably better."
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Thomas Sitrin
|
Thomas was
9 yrs. old when he left South Korea to join his adoptive family
in the US. A black boy raised in a Korean village, Thomas
later had to leave Korea to escape further cultural and societal
backlash. Thomas's adoptive family provided him with all
that which was ever needed, a life to live.
"Life is very difficult to discover, once discovered
it is again difficult to keep in constant effect." quoted
from Hagakure; Code of the Samurai
Words of wisdom from TJ: "We should
all strive to live outside the thought of the immediate moment,
we are born with the miraculous ability to determine the direction
from which life approaches us...life experiences have instilled
in me a sense of enpowerment, the will to overstep obstacles regardless
of the variables.
A childhood, a lifetime weighted by ethnocentricity and xenophobic
experiences can be devastating and mentally/emotionally crippling
or it can be a cumulative experience. A watershed, a realization
that no experience is without a controllable outcome." |
Jean Stark
L. Jean Stark,
R. Her daughter
Both at
Stark Essentials |
Jean Stark,
an activist in the Nichols community of North Carolina, never knew
her father and because her mother was still alive she was considered
a "social orphan." She was sent to several foster homes before
the age of three. At the ripe old age of 13, Jean was placed in
the Oxford Orphanage Masonic Home for Children in North Carolina.
This is where life turned around for her and Jean credits this orphanage
for making her the person she is today. She "remembers the orphanage
as a wonderful place where she, her three sisters and a brother
lived." (Tioga Community Newspaper, 5/9/01)
Although Jean has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she doesn't let that slow her down. Nothing gets by her in this little community! Here are some of her accomplishments: Has a business of her own called "Stark Essentials" which is a restaurant as well as a store. She is chairman of the planning board and president of the Lion's Club. Chairman of the steering committee for the Community Care Network in Nichols, a wellness program. She supports the Southern Poverty Law Center, a national organization that tries to teach tolerance by education. Has been active in the Southern Tier Independence Center in Binghamton, N.C. and is a strong advocate for the disabled. In 1997 she was given the David Beatch Advocacy Achievenemnt Award which honors someone "who has made significant changes for the disabled." (Tiogo Community Newspaper, 5/9/01).
Jean Stark is driven to make a difference in the lives of many. Jean truly walks the talk! What a gift the world has in Jean Stark.
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Jakilyn Taylor
 |
Jakilyn Taylor,
an orphan from Missoula, Montana, moved in and out of 40 different
foster care facilities over the course of 12 years. Today, Taylor
attends college in Washington DC and is a Legislative Assistant
to Senator Mary L. Landrieu.
She is also a "spokesperson for ALL orphans and emancipated
foster youth." Thank you Jakilyn Taylor for the wonderful work you
are doing! |
Bill Weinstein
 |
When Bill
Weinstein left the Hebrew National Orphan Home he went into
the insurance industry and found the satisfaction of service and
financial success he sought. But he never forgot the role
models at the Home who had encouraged him to shoot high, and his
thoughts soon turned toward giving other orphans the opportunities
that he had enjoyed. As president of the HNOH Alumni Association,
he established a fund to help orphan boys attend college and graduate
school. In his community of Ridgewood, N. J. he brought this spirit
of helping others to initiatives that established model programs
for handicapped children, and led to the creation of public tennis
facilities and wildscapes. Now he writes about lessons of his life
experiencs, and explores, in his canoe, the marine wetlands of South
Carolina. |
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