By Sara Quam
Yimy finally has a family... a big one. He joined his eight brothers and sisters Saturday as the newest member of the Rev. Bart and Claudia Fletcher family in Luverne.
"We had decided everything was set at eight. Eight was enough," Claudia said. "We could all eat at the table; we fit in the van."
"There are eight Twinkies in a box," Bart said.
"But then," Claudia said, "we heard his story."
Claudia heard about Yimy (pronounced Jimmy) through a meeting with her work as a liaison with the Adoption Support and Preservation group in southwest Minnesota. She heard of his abandonment as an infant and was touched.
She told the story of Yimy to Bart when she got home from the meeting, and they decided they were more than just touched; they wanted to save this 8-year-old boy.
Even though it wasn't a part of the long-term plan for the Fletchers, they are sure they made the right decision. And so is Yimy. He said with a smile and an arm around Bart, "It's a beautiful thing for a boy to be with his family."
Life over livelihood
Now 9, Yimy was well cared for in the orphanage. But long before that placement, he was abandoned by a single mother and given to another family. There, he was found abused and neglected in a cardboard box in the corner of a house. That's when he entered the orphanage at 19 months, weighing just 15 pounds.
The Guatemalan orphanage was only supposed to keep Yimy until age 7 but held on with the hopes that a family would take him in. Letting him go would have meant life on the streets for Yimy.
In a country where the government doesn't have a foster care system or even food assistance, Yimy would have been on his own. He would have likely turned to prostitution and panhandling, ending his childhood and probably his life.
"We're really saving this kid's life," Bart said.
The other eight Fletcher children were adopted from within the United States, and the Fletchers maintain that they are proponents of taking care of American children.
But knowing how other countries treat their children made the Fletchers aware that foreign adoption, though expensive, has merit.
Bart said, "We saw children younger than our own on the street collecting money for the day ... a 12-year-old girl carrying an infant on her hip."
Many of the children waiting to be adopted are healthy, beautiful and well-cared for. The images most Americans are used to seeing are of orphanages in war-torn countries where children get precious little care or attention.
That wasnÕt the case in the particular orphanage the Fletchers went through. They describe it as a group living quarters run similar to a day care. The time is structured and includes crafts and family-style meals with a high ratio of caregivers to children. The woman who runs the orphanage has managed it for 25 years and takes great care with the operation.
In fact, one of the two times Yimy cried since coming here was when he realized he'd miss the anniversary celebration at the orphanage.
"We could tell by looking in their eyes that they were bright, well-cared for and loved," Claudia said.
Many Americans don't see orphanages as a family-type setting, but for Yimy, it was close. He always talked about wanting an actual mom and dad, but leaving his only known home was difficult.
Bart and Claudia said he is adjusting to the family and learning English from his brothers and sisters. "They all look at him with a bit of curiosity," Bart said.
Yimy has already attended Sunday School at United Methodist Church where his dad is the pastor.
Tuesday was Yimy's first day of fourth grade in Luverne. He is considered a special needs student because of some possible head injuries as an infant, but Yimy is ready to learn. The school has an English-as-a-second-language teacher who will help him along.
The Fletchers are hoping that some of his perceived learning disabilities can be attributed to being around so many younger children in the orphanage where the workers may not have been as equipped to teach an older child.
He gets additional help from Claudia who is fluent in Spanish. She said most English-speaking moms couldnÕt tell an adoptive son from Guatemala "no" in as many descriptive ways as she can.
The airport and a formal church service are new to Yimy. Even the concept of property is different to someone whose world was so small for most of his life.
Claudia said, "In Central America, houses and yards are gated in, so he doesn't understand the invisible line between yards."
For now, Yimy is full of smiles and shows off that he knows how to say "thank you" and "you're welcome." And he uses the word "beautiful" a lot. That should be enough to get by on for a while.