JEDDAH — Al-Wedad Charity Foundation, which takes care of orphans and children with unknown parents, revealed that it follows certain measures to ensure at least 80 percent conformity between the physical features of adopted orphans and their foster parents. The foundation stipulated that the features and skin color should match 80 percent as major criteria for the adoption process. It attributed this to providing a healthy environment for the upbringing of an orphan in the custody of the foster family. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Dr. Wafaa Azhar, head of the unit for foster care of children at the foundation, said that this specific condition is essential for an orphan to be handed over to his foster family so as to ensure his/her psychological, social and familial stability. "The foundation is keen to ensure the requirement that the color and physical features of the orphan child, meant for adoption, match with that of the foster family, as this would have a great impact on his life, especially in the social and psychological aspects. This condition is one of the most important indicators that help ensure that the child is integrated into the foster family's surroundings so that the family and society accept him properly and he obtains an appropriate family life. "Thus, the adopted child does not find himself different from the rest of the family. This helps him prevent being subjected to bullying and raising questions about himself when there is a difference in color and features from the members of his foster family and this will have a big impact on the formation of his personality," she said while pointing to psychological and social data. Dr. Dhaifallah Al-Naami, CEO of the foundation, said that the foundation is closely following the mechanism for matching the features of the foster child with the foster family. When a family applies for fostering an orphan, the foundation begins the process of nominating an infant suitable for the family. After verifying all the relevant factors, the foundation informs the family over the phone about the availability of a suitable infant for them, in accordance with their preferences. The designated family will be notified to come to the branch of the foundation where the child is available to complete the matching procedures on the basis of the physical features of the child and the family. Al-Naami said that the initial nomination and matching process will be carried out electronically through a foster care system at the level of the Kingdom.
