::: 目前位置:English > Roots-Finding Review

Roots-Finding Review

Cathwel Roots-Finding and Reunion Services

Since 1971, Cathwel has provided shelters for pregnant women, babies, children, and juveniles. These shelters are affectionately known as “Jonah house”. Our mission is to find a permanent home for children.

Over the last 40 years, countless adoptees have returned to Taiwan after having spent years abroad to reunite with their biological families. Many adoptive parents ask us questions such as: “What is an ideal age for kids to start searching for their roots?”; “Could the reunion with the original family bring healing?”; “Do the children experience more confusion after this event?”   

Based on our observations, even though adoptees are very close to their adoptive parents, many of them are still eager to meet their original families due to many reasons. For example, they want to hear the stories from their birth mothers in person. They need to go on their own journey to answer the question: “who am I?”

Between 2006 and 2017, our Group Roots-Finding program has helped 87 adoptees reconnect with Taiwan while our Reunion Services has facilitated 243 requests to search for and reunite with original families (78.1% of our applicants successfully had reunions).

Group Roots-Finding Program

Each summer, this program organizes a trip (usually 2-3 weeks long) to Taiwan; and adoptees between 18 to 25 years old are welcome to apply. During the trip, participants from different countries stay at Jonah House. They can share their stories with one another and build lasting friendships. We have seen time and time again how the strong bonds formed during this time become part of our participants’ essential support network in life. Through visiting the landmarks of Taiwan and trying the authentic food, they explore the country where they were born. Aside from experiencing Taiwanese culture, participants also have a chance to meet their original families if both parties are ready.  

Here are some facts about 87 participants from 2006 to 2017:

  1. There are almost the same total numbers of female and male participants. The number of younger (18-20 years old) adoptees is almost double of the number of older (21-25 years old) adoptees. Please see table 1.   
  2. Most of the adoptees have come from the Netherlands (41.4%), the United States (29.9%), and Canada (21.8%). Please see table 2.   
  3. Most participants reported that they felt deeply understood in this group as they could hear similar stories from others and know that they’re not alone. They felt a profound sense of belonging and as a result, they were able to strengthen their sense of identity.

Table 1. Age of Group roots-finding

 

Male

Female

total

   16-17

9

5

14

18-20

24

24

48

21-25

10

15

25

Total

43

44

87

  Table 2. The Countries and gender of Group roots-finding

Nationality

Gender

 

total

Male

Female

Netherlands

19

17

36 (41.4%)

Canada

9

10

19 (21.8%)

USA

12

14

26(29.9%)

Germany

0

3

 3(3.45%)

Others

3

0

 3(3.45%)

Total

43

44

87

Story-It doesn't stop with just adoption from Lumen Dec. 2013

Searching for Original Families

Between 1972 and 2017, 2289 children were adopted through Cathwel; approximately 10 percent of them have applied for the reunion in the last 11 years, and we successfully helped 190 adoptees reunite with their original families.  

How were we trying to approach the original families for applicants?

  1. We found 145 (76.3%) adoptees’ original families through our own database. This demonstrates how important it is to keep the information about original families. The process of communicating with these families was further facilitated by the trust that Cathwel has built with the original families over the years.

2.  Aside from Cathwel’s database, we searched through the government’s record of current registered household addresses and were able to reach 41 (21.6%) original families.     

3.  There were 53 applicants couldn’t have successful reunions. Regarding the factors that we couldn’t locate the original families, the primary reason for 40% of these cases was that the original families were unknown from the beginning. In about 20% of the cases, members of the original families were not mentally prepared to meet their child immediately. There is often an overwhelming sense of suffering from guilt, shame or loss. Or some of them were struggling from their current life and had no space to face their own past. Among all of our applicants, 11 adoptees were not able to complete their reunion for this reason.

The Reunion Meeting

  1. The applicant

If the adoptees are minors, adoptive parents must be the applicant. Sometimes, however, even when an adoptee is of legal age, adoptive parents may still apply on their behalf either because they want to protect their child or they are deeply convinced of the reunion’s importance; this accounts for 19.2% of our total adult adoptees in the program.

  1. Whom to meet

Typically, adoptees met with their birth mothers or maternal grandparents. Less frequently, they also met with their birth fathers or paternal grandparents. Some adoptees also had the chance to meet their siblings or half-siblings during the reunion. Regarding the people who may participate in the reunion, please see table 3.  

Table 3. Whom to Meet

 

BM

BF

MGP

PGP

Sibling

Relatives

others

 

Total

158

40

68

14

70

72

23

83.2 %

21.1 %

35.8 %

7.4 %

36.8 %

37.9 %

12.1 %

 

16.8% of the 190 adoptees couldn’t meet their birth mothers for multiple reasons. Some women were not ready to meet their child while others had lost contact with their families or even passed away.

Only 21.1% of the adoptees were able to meet their birth fathers because many of them had not been informed of their children’s birth and could not be identified. If birth mothers kept the secret from their husbands, maternal grandparents could be the people whom adoptees met instead.  

Specifically for grandparents, 35.8% of the reunions involved maternal grandparents while only 7.4% involved paternal grandparents. Some of the grandparents expressed their feeling of guilt and apologized for not helping more or for having made the decision at that time. Some birth parents said that the grandparents were the only people who knew about the children’s existence, and they often missed their grandchildren very much.

  1. The place

77.4% of the first meeting took place in Cathwel. Others took place in restaurants (18.9%) or the original family’s homes (16.3%). There were a few that happened in rehabilitation homes or prisons. In some cases where a member of the original family has deceased, adoptees may also choose to pay their respects at a gravesite.

Story-My Root Finding Experience from Lumen Dec. 2013

About Adoptees Who Participated in Our Reunion

  1. Adoptee’s Age

78.1% of our 243 applicants successfully enjoyed their reunions. Approximately half of our participants are under 18 years old (47.9%) while the other half are adults (52.1%. From this distribution, we can observe that the desire for reunion could emerge quite early.

Regarding the percentage of the different ages of adoptees who had their first reunion, please see table 4. This demonstrates that most of group (43.7%) met their original families when they were between 18 and 25 years old.

Table 4. Adoptee’s ages at the first reunion    

 

numbers

Percentage

Under 6 years old

10

5.3%

 

47.9%

6-12 years old

41

21.6%

12-18 years old

40

21.0%

18-25 years old

83

43.7%

 

52.1%

Over 25 years old

16

8.4%

Total

190

100%

100%

 

  1. Age of Adoption

Most of the group (126 adoptees) had been adopted when they were less than 12 months old. The second largest group (38 adoptees) was adopted between 1 and 3 years old. Therefore, 86.3% of the adoptees were younger than 3 years old when they were adopted. The statistics demonstrate that although the adoptees couldn’t remember their original families, many still would like to have the reunion. Regarding the percentage of the different ages of adoption, please see table 5.

Table 5. Age of Adoption    

Age of adoption

Numbers/ percentage

Under 1 year old

126(66.3%)

1-3 years old

38 (20%)

3-6 years old

13(6.8%)

6-12 years old

13(6.8%)

Total

190 (100%)

 

  1. Gender and Countries of Adoption

58.9% of the adoptees who met their original families are female; and there are more and more female adoptees in the older group. Please see table6.

Table6. Adoptee’s Age and Gender

Adoptee’s age

male

female

Number /percentage

Under 18 years old

40

51

91(47.9%)

18-25 years old

33

50

83(43.7%)

Over 25 years old

5

11

16(8.4%)

Total

78(41.1%)

112(58.9%)

190(100%)

Most of the adoptees came back from the Netherlands (40.5%), USA (24.7%), Canada (17.9%), Germany (13.2%) and other countries (6.3%). Please see table 7. But from the table 8, it demonstrates that adoptees from Germany and Netherlands are more likely to return for a reunion while adoptees in the USA and Canada are less likely to do so.

Table 7. Adoptee’s Age and Countries

Adoptee’s age

NL

CA

USA

Germany

Others

Total

Under 18 years old

50

3

14

21

3

91

Over 18 years old

27

31

28

4

9

99

Total

77

(40.5%)

34

(17.9%)

42

(24.7%)

25

(13.2%)

12

(6.3%)

190

(100%)

Table 8. Country’s Percentage

 

Total Adoptees

Participants

Of Reunion

Percentage

USA

1030

42

4.08%

Canada

503

34

6.76%

Netherlands

409

77

18.83%

Germany

107

25

23.36%

Others

240

12

5.00%

Total

2289

190

8.3%

Story-The Adoption of Xiao Shu from Lumen Dec. 2015

Background of Original Family    

29.5% of birth mothers were under 20 years old when they put their children up for adoption. Many of the birth parents who choose to find permanent families for their children belong to one of these three categories:

  1. 59% of the birth parents were not married.
  2. 19.6% of the birth parents were dealing with difficult situations, such as poverty or trauma.
  3. 31.1% of the adoptees were in special needs. Their parents put them up for adoption because they lacked support from social welfare or medical insurance. Some couldn’t cope with the stress from Taiwan’s conservative culture and discrimination.

Story-Letting go, is also LOVE from Lumen Dec. 2010

Secrets vs. Disclosure

16.8% of birth parents were still married when the reunion happened. 28.9% of birth mothers were remarried and 23% still were single.

It would be very difficult for birth mothers to tell their husbands about the adoptees if they had not shared the fact with them before they were married. That’s why just 7.9% of birth mothers’ husbands knew about the adoptees. 56.8% of the grandparents and 51.6% of the birth parents’ siblings knew about the adoptees.

This data demonstrates that a birth mother faces a lot of social and cultural pressure, and she may feel the need to hide herself from the stigma and continue to keep the secret. We think it would be very important to advocate the friendly and healthy culture for adoption in Taiwan.   

The Adoptive Parents’ Role

If adoptees are minors, their adoptive parents would accompany them during the reunion. 62.2% of adult adoptees were accompanied by their adoptive parents during the first meeting. Many adoptive parents would love to be there for this important occasion. After the reunion, the adoptees could share the beautiful moments with their parents. Some adoptive parents would like to avoid loyalty issues that may trouble their children, so that they chose not to be there in person.

Story-German Parents travel with their Taiwanese adopted children back to their country of birth from Lumen Dec. 2017

The Social Worker’s Role

The social workers of Cathwel do our best to help the reunion go successfully. In the beginning, we always email a questionnaire to the applicants to invite them to clarify their expectations and motivations for the reunion.

The second step is to search for the original family. It would be the most difficult stage because adoptees would face much uncertainty. During this period, the social workers prepare the adoptees or their adoptive parents for different possibilities, including the worst case scenario.

Before the reunion, we set up individual preparation meetings with everyone involved to build realistic expectations.

During the first meeting, our social worker serves as the translator (English-Chinese), facilitator and emotional supporter. Based on our observations, non-verbal language always plays a more important role than spoken language. Some participants will prepare an album to introduce their life and share the missing parts with each other. All questions are allowed and all answers (including “I don’t know” or “I don’t have an answer right now”) are respected.

It will be a new challenge to keep the relationship healthy. Therefore, participants are encouraged to keep in touch through Cathwel. Some adoptees may contact their original families directly after the relationship becomes more stable.

Conclusion

Adoption is an emotional experience; and adoptees’ right to know their biological origins might be conflicts of the birth mothers’ right to privacy and autonomy. If we can help birth mother trust the system in the beginning, it’s still possible for them to go through the challenging of the reunion successfully. Many birth families reported finding peace of mind after meeting their children; and many adoptees feel “becoming whole” after their roots-finding or reunion. We believe that it is very important to have professional support for original families, adoptees, and adoptive families.