Although there are plenty of us 'older' folks who are totally comfortable with throwing ourselves into the deep end of life's pool by adopting children, not everyone would choose to parent into their golden years.

(Excuse the upcoming tangent, but why is the time of dotage called the "golden years"? Silver, I could see ... although even that is euphemistic ... but golden? In my case, anyway, advancing years have taken almost all the blond out of my hair and made a rich, golden tan much harder to pull off with worries about the debt I'm paying in wrinkles for past bronzings. In fact, the only things getting more of the yellow tone gold is known for are my teeth.

Meanwhile, back at the blog ... )

There are many past their best-before dates who learn from adoptive families that there is a world out there where children have nothing, then take the mothering skills they've developed over the decades and turned them to wider issues than one child at a time.

Four British grandmothers stepped up back in 1990, upon learning of the conditions orphans in Romania suffered, and started their own charity so they could make a difference in children's lives.

Since then, they've expanded their focus to include support for projects in Hungary, Serbie, Montenegro, India, Africa and the Philippines.

They don't do things on a grand scale, but things do get done.

Their latest project focuses on an orphanage in India which has been completely devastated in recent years by a tsunami, a fire and a cyclone. The four women hope to fund the building and furnishing of a brand new orphanage there and want to buy 20 water buffalo, which will produce milk three times each day, to allow the centre to support itself within 12 months.

These women, with now 58 grandchildren between them, take a practical approach that may be unique to their sex. They solicit donations mainly from family and friends, take other Lancashire folk to work on projects with them, using their skills and teaching them more about the world in the meantime, and they insist that their experience as mothers and grandmothers has given them the background to run the programs.

"We don't hang around," one says. "We just do things. We never have more than £1,000 in the bank, because it could be being used for something instead of sitting there."

If you have friends or relatives that have become more aware of the problems facing the world's children through your adoption ... those who have no interest in becoming adoptive parents, but want to do something for the positive ... tell them about these ladies and others. There is much to be done, and many ways to do. Plus, grannies are welcome.

How cool would it be if our children were the inspiration for more people to step up and make the world a better place?


These ladies can be contacted at pricemelanie2003@yahoo.com