BAMBI News May 2019
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Statement regarding BAMBI News “Adoption” cover story in May 2019 In its May 2019 issue BAMBI News published a story written by Susan Jones entitled A True Miracle: Adopting Mila. The BAMBI News team approached Susan to write this personal reflection piece. Following its publication BAMBI were contacted by several individuals and organizations concerned with the details disclosed in the article and that these may be misleading or a misrepresentation of the reality of legal Adoption in Thailand. Formal adoption procedures in Thailand are detailed, complex and lengthy in order to protect both the mother and child in any circumstance where adoption is being considered. BAMBI has a duty of care to ensure that the information it publishes is factual, informative and culturally compassionate and accepts that this article falls short in all these aspects. Whilst we do not doubt that Susan and Milos’s intentions are noble, in providing Mila with a loving home; BAMBI does not endorse or support private adoption or fostering arrangements outside of recognized legal procedures and registered adoption agencies. After contacting Susan for clarification, she and her partner have confirmed that they have entered the process of adoption and have registered with the Adoption office attached to the Thai Ministry of Family. Their application is ongoing. BAMBI is run by a small team of dedicated volunteers and our intention is to support the parenting community in Bangkok. We take our responsibility seriously and acknowledge when mistakes happen. BAMBI apologizes for this poor editorial decision to publish this article without proper scrutiny and have put measures in place internally to increase accountability and screening of articles prior to publication. We are seeking legal advice and clarification from independent organizations to inform future articles. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any distress this issue has caused. BAMBI - June 2019
Chairwoman's letterDear Members, Welcome to May! I hope you had a fun time with your friends and family during the Songkran holiday. Family … Family is like a kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope is an optical toy that produces symmetrical patterns through multiple reflections in inclined mirrors enclosed in a tube. Every time you rotate it, the pattern changes. And the pattern keeps changing, it never stays the same. Families keep changing as well. Kids grow, parents grow, a new family member arrives, a grown-up kid leaves … Little by little, our lives are always changing. That’s why life is so interesting and fascinating. Like a kaleidoscope, you never get bored looking at it. We all feel stressed and bored at times by daily life, but let’s take a step back and try to enjoy each change in our lives as if we were looking into a kaleidoscope, as this moment comes only once. We wouldn’t want to miss it. Moreover, the pattern each family produces might not always be very pretty, but it might just lead to the most beautiful pattern yet. The theme for this month is FAMILY. I want to keep producing beautiful patterns in our family kaleidoscope as much as possible and for as long as we can together. Akiko Cayne View PDF
Statement regarding BAMBI News “Adoption” cover story in May 2019 In its May 2019 issue BAMBI News published a story written by Susan Jones entitled A True Miracle: Adopting Mila. The BAMBI News team approached Susan to write this personal reflection piece. Following its publication BAMBI were contacted by several individuals and organizations concerned with the details disclosed in the article and that these may be misleading or a misrepresentation of the reality of legal Adoption in Thailand. Formal adoption procedures in Thailand are detailed, complex and lengthy in order to protect both the mother and child in any circumstance where adoption is being considered. BAMBI has a duty of care to ensure that the information it publishes is factual, informative and culturally compassionate and accepts that this article falls short in all these aspects. Whilst we do not doubt that Susan and Milos’s intentions are noble, in providing Mila with a loving home; BAMBI does not endorse or support private adoption or fostering arrangements outside of recognized legal procedures and registered adoption agencies. After contacting Susan for clarification, she and her partner have confirmed that they have entered the process of adoption and have registered with the Adoption office attached to the Thai Ministry of Family. Their application is ongoing. BAMBI is run by a small team of dedicated volunteers and our intention is to support the parenting community in Bangkok. We take our responsibility seriously and acknowledge when mistakes happen. BAMBI apologizes for this poor editorial decision to publish this article without proper scrutiny and have put measures in place internally to increase accountability and screening of articles prior to publication. We are seeking legal advice and clarification from independent organizations to inform future articles. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any distress this issue has caused. BAMBI - June 2019Chairwoman's letterDear Members, Welcome to May! I hope you had a fun time with your friends and family during the Songkran holiday. Family … Family is like a kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope is an optical toy that produces symmetrical patterns through multiple reflections in inclined mirrors enclosed in a tube. Every time you rotate it, the pattern changes. And the pattern keeps changing, it never stays the same. Families keep changing as well. Kids grow, parents grow, a new family member arrives, a grown-up kid leaves … Little by little, our lives are always changing. That’s why life is so interesting and fascinating. Like a kaleidoscope, you never get bored looking at it. We all feel stressed and bored at times by daily life, but let’s take a step back and try to enjoy each change in our lives as if we were looking into a kaleidoscope, as this moment comes only once. We wouldn’t want to miss it. Moreover, the pattern each family produces might not always be very pretty, but it might just lead to the most beautiful pattern yet. The theme for this month is FAMILY. I want to keep producing beautiful patterns in our family kaleidoscope as much as possible and for as long as we can together. Akiko Cayne View PDF