Chinese Birth Family Search Journeys: Recent Episodes
Marci Edwards
As a project for CCI's Birth Parent Search and Reunion summer intern, I wanted to show how every adoptee's stories were so similar, yet so different, and that we are not alone. And also to help adoptees who are searching find some tips and tricks for their own journey.
For the grand finale, the title explains it all. In the ultimate episode, I have a conversation with Erin Valentino about The Nanchang Project, a birth parent search organization that uses Chinese social media to find potential parents. We discuss the origin of the project, traveling to China after COVID, and the partnership with MyTaproot. All the resources are found below! Please enjoy and check out the Nanchang Project!
https://www.nanchangproject.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NanchangProject/
https://mytaproot.org/
https://www.facebook.com/mytaproot/
In this penultimate episode, I had a remarkable conversation with Lifang Chen, a.k.a Nikwi, who published an Instagram page detailing her search and reunion with her birth family. We talked about the moment she discovered her parents, her emotional reunion at the airport, and her current relationship with her birth family. She also created a resource for Dutch-speaking Chinese adoptees so check it out on Facebook and Instagram and follow her search journey on IG!
https://www.instagram.com/mynameislifang/?fbclid=IwAR2KuRXCK5RC0aCOC9VQ-2-KAE-Wgc4p7xj7jTiF0h8cOtDC031W8I8-KVw
Adoptiepedia
https://www.facebook.com/Adoptiepedia/
https://www.instagram.com/Adoptiepedia/?fbclid=IwAR26YsKmEVQhgIM4jYYQPPIN2w4ABTlAbaIoSmHGBImPRWmS2hi62TQK6PE
In this super short episode, I spoke with Ivy about her popularity among Chinese and American news outlets and plans to return to China after the pandemic. She has had many articles published about her, which I will link below. It goes to show that if you just take a chance, you might be surprised by the response!
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2UTYU7x2YHTZkxVxb1lvjA?fbclid=IwAR3pHUord2erRXYTgDtNJidKgVdSUG9ANKYH-pk4rjRDa6lIDFz51MMuqoM-QQ
https://wrchina.org/archives/8992?lang=en&fbclid=IwAR1jgVqqRBdEZHdQrheYdDjXbjOPWcTEPVrcB4rY1Fm7G8bCfTT2tVGhlBA-WRChina
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=373489250265464-Renewal Missions
http://www.ourchinastories.com/collections/show/43?fbclid=IwAR3WJ7Ud5HV_0ligp7Hgjnl9eY8_Qq_hpsmwyN9-X3Wy3i2d8mnETHhcwFE-OurChinaStories
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQSU3gYW3VwfEzDCqsfW1gn8v1p38t1X/view?usp=sharing - Yiwu TV
It was amazing to hear Amanda's story. She was able to find her birth parents so quickly by just a DNA test. She recently released a video detailing her entire journey and I talked with her about what it was like, learning about her past, the feelings she felt throughout, and what she hopes for the future! Please listen and enjoy and check out her video below!
https://youtu.be/TXAvzm5QO-0
I was lucky enough to have a wonderful conversation with Marli, who became Chinese media famous when her search got picked up by some news reporters. She recently released a video about her search in China and I discussed with her the experience and about coming to terms with the results of her search, or lack thereof. Please enjoy and I linked her video below so check her video out, too!
https://youtu.be/kjIJ6_idA0g
Take a listen to Ruan's story, whose adoption had some irregular circumstances. We discuss struggling with identity issues, returning to China, and deciding what to do with the results of searching.
When having this conversation with Nikki, I was able to see searching in a different light. As a well-read world-traveler, she gave searching for birth family a new purpose. I think many people would be interested in hearing her new and unique perspective.
In this fun episode with a different Lily, with a -y, we discuss what motivated her to search, her initial steps, and what she plans to do in the future.
In this first episode, I have a conversation with Lili about how she accidentally found her birth family on a trip to China and how it changed her life. As a friend and adoptee(I was in her adoption group!), I was there along her journey and it was an honor to be able to share her story and get her perspective.