A Place for Someone Like Me
In India, where adoption is just becoming open, support and activity groups for adoptees did not exist until just recently.
Mrs. Lata Joshi, the former director of BSSK, established ANUJ in early 2002 as India’s first adoptee organization. ANUJ, which means “brotherhood” in Sanskrit, stands for “Adoptees National Union for Joy” and is open to any Indian adoptee.
ANUJ offers a place where adoptees come together as friends and talk about adoption with those who share similar experiences. ANUJ’s activities range from informal picnics to a summer camp, and adoptees from age 3 to 23 have attended.
At the summer camp, 15 adoptees enjoyed a week of swimming, games, skits, and campfire singing. At the end of the week, some of the adoptees presented skits about adoption, and the adults read a poem about birth mothers. For many of the kids ANUJ’s camp was the first place they spoke openly about adoption, and it was emotional.
Christina Kapoor, an Indian adoptee from the United States who served as a volunteer at BSSK last summer, attended an ANUJ event and shared the “American” adoptee perspective.
“The children were wonderful and very sweet; we sat in a park near a temple and talked about adoption. We talked about how we felt about being adopted, how we handled our adoption when we found out that we were adopted.”
Most ANUJ activities consist of pure social time, but the hope is that the friendships will build a network of support among adoptees. ANUJ events also offer parents a chance to share stories and bond with other parents facing similar issues.
With a growing number of adoptive families and more openness about adoption in India, the time for ANUJ is now.
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