Falling in Love with Bina

I fell madly in love with a 2"x 2" picture of Bina sent to me in June by the government of Nepal explaining I'd been matched with her.  Contained within the two pages of basic information accompanying her little picture, was some medical background regarding her difficult beginnings.   Bina was severely undernourished when she was brought into orphanage care, as well as being born with the birth defect of a cleft palate. Bina remained a resident of the same orphanage from the day she was found until I came to Nepal, visited with her over a 5-day period and then signed her adoption decree August 8th 2010--- the day before her 4th birthday, and the day when she began living with me in a hotel room in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

 In many countries, even the U.S., a special needs sickly child like Bina is often the first to be  abandoned due to shame, lack of education or simply the inability to adequately care for the child.  I came here to claim her, bring her home to the U.S. and provide a simple, happy life for her and me.  I never imagined when I traveled here, I'd be living in politically unstable Nepal for more than 4-months and counting.  I could never have anticipated I'd be here this long, existing as a new mother, in one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, renting an apartment with a room mate in a similar situation, while holding down my mortgage in Boston and living off the equity line on my home. 

 If you had told me I'd  leave my career for this long and be separated from my 80-year-old mother  who I live with for this extended period of time, I would have said, "No, that's just not possible." But , here we sit waiting for news of her Visa home.   Despite all the reasons we should be home, despite the extrodinary difficulties existing here in this country, Bina and I are learning how to love one another deeply and be a family as we wait to get our Visa home granted and be re-united with our friends and family in America.  

First Time I Held Bina 

Bina's Orphanage

Life In Nepal for a new mother and child

Bina fascinated by music emitting from a speaker

The Evidence of Bina's life we are required to submit 

The day I signed my adoption decree and Bina came to live with me at the hotel, she spiked a temperature of 104 degrees.  I put Bina in the bathtub to cool her down and within a few moments realized the water filling the tub was brown from God only knows what types of contaminates.  This is everyday life in Nepal. The water can kill you here.   Constantly there are situations we find ourselves in that are not only foreign to an American Citizen but bordering on surreal and at times extremely dangerous for our health not to mention my sanity.  Don't ask how a germophobe like me can live here for months.

I pulled Bina out of the tub and we figured out how to make our first emergency visit to the CIWEC Medical Clinic here in Kathmandu.  It was raining, taxi's are scarce when it rains here. I'd been in Nepal for less than 1 week and I had to get us emergent medical care in the middle of the night.  We made it there.  The doctor was amazing and that was night one with my daughter and the start of medical bills and doctor visits for both of us that continue to present day exceeding more than $1,200.

I have had  Bina treated for numerous upper respiratory infections, bacterial eye infections, ring worm, giardia and to keep her healthy she has been inoculated for typhoid, polio, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, and the list goes on.  Since she is 4, she has a tremendous amount of catching up to do and measles kill kids here in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal.   I could not wait to vaccinate her in the U.S. using my medical insurance.

To get a visa for Bina and get home, we are required to submit evidence to USCIS- (United States Customs and Immigration Services) illustrating Bina qualifies under U.S. laws as an orphan.  Currently our file sits in the hands of USCIS under review. We are hopeful we will receive a fast response.
We have no way of knowing how long we will continue to wait for our file to be processed.

 I've had so  many friends and strangers offer a donation to our plight I put this blog together.   When people ask me how can I help, I have always requested that people please pray for us.  I believe in my heart Prayer will bring us home.

Bina and I are grateful for any donations or prayers we continue to receive and will hold you in our hearts for caring about us enough to read this blog and think of us.