CRAN, or the Centro de Rehabilitacion del Niño, is a center founded more than 20 years ago by its Director, Ximena Lleras Puga, to provide services to children in need.
Today CRAN can be found on a quiet, country hillside on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. Once a residence, the Spanish styled Administrative building and offices were the main house and stables of a private home. The hillside is now decorated with a brightly colored playhouse, playground apparatus, and several buildings, which comprise the programs offered by CRAN.
The Protective Services program offers a residence and pre-school program for children up to age 7. Some of these are the older children of women in the "Mother's Home" or from families experiencing illness or financial problems, which have rendered them temporarily unable to care for their children. Others have been removed from homes due to abuse or neglect.
CRAN also offers a Special Education Day school for about 36 children ages 4-18. The staff includes a physician as well as social workers, a speech therapist, occupational therapist, audiologist, psychologist and many childcare workers.
The CRAN program most familiar to Alliance families is the Infant Adoption Program. CRAN has a "Mother's Home" which is a residence for pregnant women considering adoption. The Mother's Home is located in Central Bogotá. While at the Mother's Home, women receive full pre-natal and medical care, and "seminars" on adoption. Most of the Birth Mothers are 22-24 years old, single and working as housekeepers, known in Colombia as domestics. Abortion is illegal in Colombia although birth control is widely available. Unlike in the U.S., single parenthood is neither socially acceptable nor economically viable.
Infants are born in the local hospital and usually discharged after 24 hours. Birth Mothers see their babies in the hospital and meet the foster mother. A Birth Mother must see her baby again in the presence of the notary when she signs her relinquishment papers. She then returns to the "Mother's Home" to recuperate and the infant goes into a private foster home supervised by CRAN. In foster care infants receive the one to one care of an at-home mom. They receive routine medical care and the same immunizations infants receive in the U.S. After the Birth Mother signs her adoption relinquishment papers, she still has 30 days to change her mind. During this time she may request a visit with her child. Birth Mother's remain at the Mother's Home 8-15 days after giving birth and are given counseling to help them think through this difficult and life long decision.
As was once the case in the U.S., adoption in Colombia is a closed system. Birth Mothers receive no information about the family chosen for their child. They are informed about the adoption process and ways in which families must "qualify" for adoption. Adopting families receive limited background on the child's Birth Mother. CRAN does have photocopy pictures of each Birth Mother and are pleased when families request one. Birth Mothers are able to see post-placement photos of their child sent by the family through the Alliance. This is another reason why post-placement reports and photos are so important.
The programs offered at CRAN are provided by professional and caring individuals. They are also very costly and CRAN is in constant need of monetary donations. The Alliance and its families have been major contributors to the expansion and maintenance of programs for CRAN's children. Our contributions have made possible the building of a new Special Education School, and lunchroom, as well as the purchase of a bus to transport the children. We hope that our families will continue to remember CRAN when able to make a donation.