Bringing Maggie home from China is Ellie Radke’s heart’s desire. But adopting a Chinese baby comes with a hefty price tag of $22,000. To help Radke realize her dream, friends and supporters are preparing a fund-raiser, “Bringing Maggie Home,” to
Bringing Maggie home from China is Ellie Radke’s heart’s desire. But adopting a Chinese baby comes with a hefty price tag of $22,000.
To help Radke realize her dream, friends and supporters are preparing a fund-raiser, “Bringing Maggie Home,” to be held next Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at St. Michael and All Angels’ Episcopal Church in Lihu’e.
The event will be a celebration of spirit, spunk and the hard work and empathy of a cadre of women — and the belief that dreams really can come true.
“I can remember telling my sister when I was a little kid that I was going to have 101 children, and I would keep one and give 100 to her. And I thought I was being very gracious,” says Radke.
Life intervened, and Ellie never had children. But it didn’t keep her from being a kid magnet. The mutual attraction is evident, whether it’s in her special-education classroom at King Kaumuali’i Elementary School in Hanama’ulu, or with her relatives’ and friends’ children.
Radke says it took her until her 40s to realize she could parent a child in a loving and supportive way. She investigated many adoption agencies and their requirements, never faltering in her pursuit and belief that there was a child for her to adopt.
As the years passed, the hoops she had to go through increased, until the last available option was China. Radke’s been doing her homework on China and the babies they put up for adoption.
China is a country with a one-child policy, and most parents want a son. Consequently, about 100,000 female children are abandoned annually. Of those, perhaps about 15,000 are adopted, often by foreigners.
What becomes of women without family connections is not openly discussed in China. By contrast, Maggie Jo’s future is a promise of love and nurturing.
“Do you want to know what I know about her?” asks Radke. “Looking at the infant averages, she’ll be between six and 24 months (old), probably about a year.
“She’ll probably come from a southern Chinese province, have some delay in motor skills and ability to attach emotionally. She’s had too much time on her hands that she’s had to fill by herself, so she’ll probably rock and do a little perseverating in her hands — flapping or pulling her own hair.
Radke said China tries hard to give children the stimulation and the emotional and physical support they need, but the country lacks the funds or resources to meet children’s needs adequately.
“Yet they do love these little girls, and I feel a huge amount of gratitude that they will allow me to bring Maggie home as my daughter,” she said.
No matter how hard she scrimped, Radke knew she’d need help. One day after a Sunday church service, concerned about finances and issues of single-parenting and her ability to “push the boat up the river,” she had a conversation with the Rev. Jan Rudinoff, pastor of her church, St. Michael & All Angels.
“Ellie,” he told her, “we’re going to pray this baby home.”
Maggie Jo’s room, the theme of which is rabbits, is near completion. Radke painted a lei around the window and plans to paint a floor canvas with rabbit tracks, a forest path and plants. The crib, a small dressing table, a rabbit-shaped night light and a portrait of Leopold the lop-eared rabbit all stand ready.
Pulling out the top drawer in a diminutive chest of drawers reveals wee Teva sandals and patent-leather MaryJane pumps. And if the room is ready, Radke’s huge heart is more so.
“You know what I want most?” Radke says, “To see her face. I want to hold her in my arms and look at her face. I can’t wait for that minute where her eyes lock on mine, and I see who she is.”
She won’t know when to schedule her China trip until 40 days before she’ll have to depart. Travel agents are standing by.
