Thank you for considering becoming Ian's* hero!

We are so grateful that you are taking time to find out more about him.

Born with Down syndrome and a hand deformity, Ian was abandoned at the hospital by his birth mother. He lives in an Eastern European country that does not have ways to care for the many children without a family capable of, or interested in, caring for them. Many children like him end up in "medical orphanages" (institutions), particularly those with special needs. Often they are mixed in with adults as children's institutions may not exist in their region. Extremely vulnerable, everything you may imagine (and worse) often befalls them. His country is slowly changing, but it will be decades before children are no longer raised behind locked doors.

For the moment, Ian is very lucky! He is currently in a foster situation where a woman cares for four young children. As he gets older, however, he will be moved to make space for another baby - likely to a "medical orphanage." Information and videos about these places are available online - most notably both the films "Bulgaria's Forgotten Children" and "Ukraine's Forgotten Children." The content in them remains current to this very moment.

Ian has a chance, though, if the family who has been matched to him by his government is able to finish funding his adoption. The cost is approximately $30,000, an amount few families have access to. They are funding it with overtime, selling things, crafting items to sell and even their son is selling his toys to help - but it's not fast enough and Ian needs you to help them if he is going to ever belong to a family. 

Money and discrimination against a child's ethnicity or special needs should never be what prevents any child from having a family. 

It's overwhelming to think of how big the problem is, but you can help this one specific child and know you're making a REAL difference. We'd love for you to follow along and stay up to date on how his life changes after he has a family. Imagine being the person who changed the future for this child! 

Please consider being his hero by sharing this page, donating, or holding a fundraiser of your own. 

All donations are 100% tax-deductible and the funds are released by Pure Charity directly to our agency or for adoption expenses only so you can give knowing that this is the real deal and your generous nature isn't being exploited. Thank you. Thank you so deeply.

* In order to protect his privacy, an advocacy name is being used.