Kai's Finding Ad

First, a little background:
Every child adopted out of China gets their picture placed in a local paper to see if a birth parent will come forward to care for them. When this does not happen, they are declared an official "orphan" and they are available for adoption. Hence the term: "finding ad".

The first picture above is of the publication itself. It's a short little newspaper, probably something for their local community. The second picture is of a section in the middle of the paper. Kai's picture is 4th from the right on the bottom row. The third picture is a close up of the ad itself. The writing below it only contains the identifying information that we already know:

Name: Cheng Kai
Sex: Male
Birthdate: January 20, 2004
Finding date: March 1, 2004
Finding location: Near #58 Xinglong Street, Qixinggang, Yuzhong District
Characteristic of body: Weak
Items found along with him: Nothing

Many times, adoptive parents are supplied with copies of these ads when they arrive in China to adopt their child. However, there is this amazing man named, Brian Stuy who makes it his business to track information in China regarding adoption. He collects, logs and files many of the newspapers and advertisements that contain finding ads. We supplied him with Kai's identifying information It turns out he had the actual publication that has Kai's finding ad in it!

For more information on the research Brian does, you can check out his website at: www.research-china.org

Most of the time, finding ads are run when the children are found (when they are babies). We were quite surprised to see Kai's finding ad. The publication was dated May 2007. The referral information we were given dates back to July/August 2007. After inquiring with Brian and also with our agency, there really is no way to know WHY Kai's finding ad was not run until he was 3.5 years old. I have had to resign myself that this will be another one of many mysteries there are with international adoption. Just when you think you know what to expect....Just when you think you have an answer to a question....Just when you think you understand how things are going to be....

Also interesting to note: this section of the paper had 26 older children listed. The next page of the paper also had 24 newborn babies shown-many of whom clearly had a cleft lip. So many questions...so few answers...