Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (FRUA) Picnic

On June 16, 1999, FRUA conducted a picnic in Shawnee Mission Park for its members. A majority of the members were present. In the Kansas City area there are about 100 families who adopted children from the former Soviet Union and this number is increasing.

A picnic lunch was served. After lunch, a professional juggler performed a great show that was enjoyed by the children as well as by the adults. Younger children had fun jumping in a moonwalk.

The majority of the adopted children are toddlers ages two to five. The rest are five-ten years old. There are about a dozen teenagers. The majority of them were adopted as small children and do not remember where they came from. However, some others were adopted at the age of 4-5 and older and remember to some degree their origin. Nevertheless, when they will become teenagers, a majority of them will be strongly interested in knowing about their origin, Russia or other countries formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

About 2,000-3,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union now live in Kansas City, and our newspaper can help families with adopted children from Russia. There are many opportunities in this direction. We can form Russian classes to teach adopted children Russian language, history, customs, songs, and dances. We can also form groups of children from Russian families and adopted children, and much more.

FRUA - New members introduced at the picnic

Picnic - FRUA recently had a picnic lunch for its members