Program to Promote
Program to Help Promote AdoptionBy John Kiesewetter Former Cincinnati TV reporter Mariah Gray Kolpek is preparing for the biggest story of her career. Kolpek, 39, and two WCPO-TV staffers, are heading to Bulgaria July 14 to shoot her one-hour independent documentary to promote Bulgarian adoptions. She says she will have access to some of the 30 orphanages in the Eastern European country during her 10-day trip. "This is a very personal thing. It is my passion," Kolpek says. She has adopted two children: Carter, 9, from Bulgaria in 2002, and Jordan, 2 1/2, from China last year. "I believe this will result with kids and families finding each other." But first she has to find funding. Kolpek, who started a public relations company after working for Channels 19 and 9, needs $2,500 to pay the $10,000 travel expenses for herself, Channel 9 producer Eric Dietrich and photographer Mike Benedict. She has been soliciting funding at her Web site, www.orphansbiggive.com. "This was just a crazy idea six months ago. But being $2,000 short with a week to go wasn't in the plan," she says. As with international adoptions, sometimes things don't go as planned. Kolpek and her husband, remodeler Lawrence "Kole" Kolpek, had applied to adopt a second Bulgarian child in 2005, with the help of All God's Children International of Portland, Ore. The Bulgarian government approved their application - then adoptions were put on hold for three years, she says. "It was very frustrating, but I believed the right child would come home from the right country," says Kolpek, of West Chester Township. Last year the Kolpeks flew to China and adopted their daughter, then 16 months old. Shortly after that, the Kolpeks learned that Bulgaria had lifted its ban, and they could bring home a child. After much soul-searching, they turned down the offer. "It was a difficult decision for us, but we felt our family was complete. But I thought I could tell other people (through TV) that Eastern Europe is open again for adoption now," says Kolpek. For the film, Kolpek will interview Vice Minister of Justice Ilonka Raichinova, an adoption reformer. She also will tour orphanages with some former Bulgarian orphans on a mission trip from the United States. Her documentary will show how prospective parents must make two trips to Bulgaria - first to meet the child, and then to bring the child home. She had to wait nine months between trips; the wait is now three to four months, she says. "I saw Carter in 2001, and then I had to leave him. It was brutal. But we always knew we'd come back and get him," Kolpek says. The adoption process - including two trips to Europe - cost about $25,000. Kolpek plans to complete the program by September for airing on Channel 9, then offer it to stations in other cities. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807060306 |
