Reflecting on 19 years since my adoption

By: Téa Tamburo

Nineteen years ago today myself and 12 other girls were adopted from the Yiyang Social Welfare Institute in Hunan, China. Since then, we’ve each lived our separate lives but are all connected through this one early-in-life event.

As we celebrate the anniversary of joining our families, I reflect on the recent news of China no longer conducting international adoption as of Sept. 4. While the circumstances surrounding our adoptions are not certain, they brought me to my family and the life I have. 

We were adopted in 2005; this was at the end of the peak of Chinese international adoptions, which were mostly due to China's One-Child Policy. In 2009, international adoption from China was slowed during the SARS epidemic and then reduced to only children with medical needs.

My outlook on my adoption is conflicted with feelings of gratitude for the life I have today and also feelings of resentment toward the policies that brought me here. Each time there’s a change to the Chinese adoption policies, this conflict weighs more on my mind, especially now with adoptions like mine having ended.

This isn’t the post I originally planned to share to commemorate the anniversary of my group’s adoption. However, as more news outlets cover the economic and political perspectives on the end of Chinese international adoption, I think it’s important to ensure that already-adopted Chinese adoptees aren’t lost in this discussion. So, in honor of my group’s “Forever Family Day” (as my family calls it), I urge you to learn more about the history of adoption and to uplift the stories of adoptees like us.

With love, 

Téa, Girls Adoption Connect founder

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Sources:

“China’s halt of foreign adoptions leaves questions about pending cases,” Associated Press, 2024.

"China Suspends Adoptions to Prevent Spread of SARS," Voice of America, 2009.