Odeen Velyky Pyvo and an Unexpected Pause in Paris
Published May 31, 2005
But the primary reason children are still getting adopted through this agency is that once there, parents who can't for one reason or another adopt the children they traveled to adopt (which is the vast majority of parents) are then prodded to select a child from the out-dated profiles in the binders at the NAC and encouraged to adopt them instead. Parents travel to distant regions to meet children they are told are healthy, but frequently aren't. For many parents it is a heartbreaking journey. They may have placed their life savings in Yunona's wallet in the hope of adopting. Doubtless, they have completed countless forms at substantial cost, may have left other children waiting at home, and have traveled thousands of miles to a country where, save for Yunona's paid interpreter, they can communicate effectively with no one. It is a position of high vulnerability. We know. It was a position in which we stood.
We know how easy it is for parents in this situation to succumb to this pressure and accept a different child than the one they traveled to adopt. We almost did it ourselves. They tell you that you literally only have minutes to decide or you will have to go home empty-handed. They remind you that you have come this far and gone to all this work and expense and now how could you possibly leave a poor suffering orphan behind? Never mind that Yunona's contract promises specific children for whom you have already prepared your heart and your home. And never mind the contract promises a refund if they can't deliver the specific children you planned to welcome into your lives, because there's also a clause that nullifies this promise if you chose a different child. For Yunona, regardless of the fact that they know little or nothing about the children whose faces they post on the Internet, the odds are still on their side.
One common result of Yunona's blind-sided practices is for parents to discover upon their arrival that a child they intended to adopt has a sibling or two or three. This is one of the things that happened to us. The NAC then tells parents that they must adopt all siblings; that, by Ukrainian law, families cannot be split. Lest it sound as though I am opposed to this philosophy let me state clearly that I am not. What I take exception to is Yunona's failure to know the status of children for whom they issue contracts. We were not prepared to learn we were now going to be expected to adopt 14-year-old boy. The NAC couldn't even find a profile on him, just as they couldn't find a profile on the younger of the daughters we went to adopt. Without a profile, the NAC won't issue the necessary permission to meet the child anyway, so our hands were tied.
- Odeen Velyky Pyvo and an Unexpected Pause in Paris
- Published: May 31, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Internet, Politics: International, Culture: Society, Culture: Family and Relationships
- Writer: garrie keyman
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- garrie keyman's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Thank you for writing, Jeanne. One thing that's been rewarding for me through all of this has been hearing from many wonderful adoptive parents out there who take a few moments to share their personal thoughts and stories in return.
Congratulations on your adoption. Sounds like our adopted daughters are about the same age.
And thank you for the compliment on my writing. Next to my husband and children, writing is the most important thing in my life.
-- gk
I only wished that I would have read this 5 months ago. We have lost over $10,000.00 since 1-2006 to Yunona USA (and what ever else they decided to use as a name for there illegal scams).
They are currently under investigation and the coward Ivan Jerdev is curreently hidding in Russia. I can not beleive people are out there that take advantage of desperate parents!
If you are the lucky few that had a positive experience with Yunona, concider yourselves very blessed to not be taken advantage of. Unlike the MANY that are heart broker and not to mention broke because of this.
If you have been a victim of Yunona or any other affiliate to them, please call the NAPA Police Dept in California. Thay are trying to get all the people who were scammed by Yunona invovled so that they have enough evidence to charge all people involved and hopefully reimburse all our money back.
Please don't speak out negatively to all those who were scammed. We are hurting and we do not need the persecution of others to stick up for a company that has lied to ALL of us from the beginning.
I only wished that I would have read this 5 months ago. We have lost over $10,000.00 since 1-2006 to Yunona USA (and what ever else they decided to use as a name for there illegal scams).
They are currently under investigation and the coward Ivan Jerdev is currently hiding in Russia. I can not believe people are out there that take advantage of desperate parents!
If you are the lucky few that had a positive experience with Yunona, consider yourselves very blessed to not be taken advantage of. Unlike the MANY that are heart broker and not to mention broke because of this.
If you have been a victim of Yunona or any other affiliate to them, please call the NAPA Police Dept in California. They are trying to get all the people who were scammed by Yunona involved so that they have enough evidence to charge all people involved and hopefully reimburse all our money back.
Please don't speak out negatively to all those who were scammed. We are hurting and we do not need the persecution of others to stick up for a company that has lied to ALL of us from the beginning.
Ivan Jerdev is very much a crook. We were referred to a child in Rostov on Don and discovered upon our arrival there that the agency has never even worked there. It was a horror story from there...................We have adopted through 2 previous agencies and realize adoption is not a cut and dried procedure but Yunona is plain crooked.
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First of all-you are indeed a wonderful writer.I am sure that I would not be able to resist any of your literary adventures but since this subject is close to my heart I was all the more intralled.I adopted my daughter from Kazakhstan in 1999 at the tender age of 10 months.I did not use Yunona but I certainly have learned some lessons regarding International adoption through my journey and through the experiences of friends.One friend went to Russia to adopt 2 children and when she arrived was told that their parents had decided to keep them.She fainted and became hysterical when she came to.She and her husband "picked" out 2 different children who are now 8 and 10 and yet she continues to mourn the children she lost and yet she never really had.When I visited my daughter's baby house to meet her for the first time I was brought a three year old rather than a small baby.For a period of time I waited while they looked for her in quite a panick.Luckily she was there and seemed to be waiting for me.