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This little boy is an orphan living in Ukraine named "Raymond." He has a joint condition and an eye condition so his chances of finding a family become slim. We've only been allowed this one picture of him, and even though we advocate for him every day, and have even raised a little money towards his adoption costs, families continue to pass him over because of this lousy picture. Unfortunately children with special needs age out of their baby houses and are transferred to institutions where care, nutrician and living conditions are all substandard. Because Raymond is facing transfer (we've heard as soon as three months from now) it is important that he finds a family quickly. His living conditions (rarely let out of bed) are nothing to smile about and the listing agency only had a few minutes to take the pictures of many children so Raymond's staring face became the only lure for prospective adopting families. We believe that if we had a portrait of him smiling (what he would certainly do in a loving home) then more families would consider Raymond as their son. We would present his portrait alongside his photo when advocating for his adoption (rescue) from his current living conditions and then send your portrait to whoever commits to adopt him as an adoption present.
So I painted him with my best guess at what he might look like with a little smile - from a tiny, grainy picture from a Ukranian orphanage.
I'm posting his story here because you never know. His future parents might be reading this right now. Is it you? Maybe you know someone.
You can read more about Raymond here:
and if you speak Ukranian, here:
You can also find out more about his condition and how other families have welcomed orphans with the same challenges into their homes, here: arthrogryposisadoption.blogspot.com/.
I know I'll be following his story and keeping my fingers crossed.
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