Happy Families International Center, Inc.(HFIC), in partnership with the Artist Foundation in Russia, is developing the I Want to Walk program, which is dedicated to allowing Russian orphans, who have missing limbs to get a new life, renewed hope and a brighter future. The program is developing further to assist the children to leave the orphanage and help them to walk through the world on their own. We developed a relationship with Texas Scottish Rite Hospital (http://www.tsrhc.org/), which provides the best prosthetic surgery and physical therapy. Every year the hospital provides surgery for five children.
Today there are 730,000 children living in Russian orphanages. Statistics show that only one out of ten Russian orphans become a functional member of society. The others are lost to drugs, crime, murder and suicide. According to the most recent official figures the Russian Ministry of Education found that of those orphans aging out of institutions; 40% become drug users, 40% commit crimes and 10% commit suicide. Our goal is to reduce these numbers as much as possible.
Who We Are
HFIC was established in 1992 as a group of volunteers to help orphans find appropriate medical care and answer their other needs. Since we became incorporated as a non-profit, licensed New York State adoption agency, we have helped many children find loving American homes. Our programs are special. We regularly travel to the orphanages in different regions, so we personally know the people we work with as well as the children’s needs in each region. At the present time HFIC works with many orphanages and foster care homes in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Guatemala. With the help of our staff hundreds of children of different ages have found their forever families in the US and are adjusting very well.
Happy Families International Center, Inc. is fully Hague accredited by the United States Department of State, allowing us to provide services for Hague Convention countries. The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption entered into force in the US on April 1st, 2008. Additionally we are proud to report that Happy Families has been accredited by the Russian Government since 2003, and we received our permanent re-accreditation on November 29th, 2007.
Dr. Natasha Shaginian-Needham is the executive director and the founder of our agency. She completed her residency in Psychiatry at the Medical School in Moscow. Her extensive background in this field began when she was working with medical reports on the children in the orphanages. Natasha then began working with special needs children in an effort to find them the medical help they needed in the United States and in the process found families to adopt these children. HFIC has helped many children with minor and serious problems such as spina bifida, bladder extrophy, missing limbs and heart defects. We work with local hospitals that treat and provide surgical procedures on these children. In 2003 the Congress of the United States awarded Dr. Shaginian-Needham the distinguished honor of the Congressional Angel in Adoption award for her dedication and outstanding services in improving the lives of orphaned children.
With the support from HFIC and friends in Russia, we sponsor the education for talented children after they leave the orphanage, which helps them to begin their independent lives. HFIC organizes different culture events for the adoption community throughout the year, such as Russian Children Folk Festivals, producing a series of documentaries showcasing the lives of adopted children, we also sponsor educational seminars for orphanage staff and others involved in the adoption process. HFIC participates in different research projects helping to improve orphan children’s health conditions and their well-being.
To dispel the awful rumors which circulated in Russia that adoptive children were being used for medical experimentation, HFIC co-produced a documentary, “Children On the Other Shore” depicting Russian orphans who were adopted in America. The goal was to change the Russian people’s opinion about international adoption by showing them footage of the day-to-day activities in the lives of adopted children with their American families. The film premiered in Moscow in December 1996 and in New York City at Lincoln Center Square Sony Theater in April 1997, as part of the Audrey Hepburn Hollywood for Children Film Festival. The second part of the documentary was prepared in the summer of 2004, and was completed for release in 2005. It was successfully presented to an audience in Moscow, truthfully showing the happiness in the lives of these orphaned children. It was then shown in Tribeca, New York City in the summer of 2007. We were pleased to see representatives from the Russian Embassy, State Department from Washington, DC and the Joint Council in the audience. Natasha is now working on a new series of documentaries continuing to bring positive attention to the plight of orphaned children in Russia.
Since 1998 we have been organizing a successful summer program, Russian Children Folk Fest. Orphans ages 6-15 come to the United States to perform Russian Folk singing and dancing. Orphanage life for older children is very difficult; so bringing them to the United States gives them an experience outside the orphanage walls and memories to cherish for a lifetime. We will try to continue this exciting event each year, giving the children an opportunity to experience American hospitality, traditions, as well as a vacation in a host family setting.
In June 2008 we celebrated our 10th Annual Russian Children’s Folk Festival in Westchester County, NY, with a weekend full of activities. The program was planned for children participating in the Folk Festival and children adopted through Happy Families, many New York and out of state families gathered for this fun and memorable weekend.
HFIC works in contract with professional and experienced social workers, therapists, doctors and adoption consultants. They provide all necessary support for families at different stages of the adoption process. Our families are given the opportunity to join different support groups, participate in cultural events and meet with other adoptees.
Our mission is to find a loving family for each orphan, who will provide them with the love and care that each and every child deserves. We provide programs that are mutually beneficial to both the orphans and to the families who choose to adopt them.