The Hindu Business Line : The adoption story

WHAT do Aristotle, Nana Saheb and Halle Berry have in common? Well, besides being famous, they also happen to have been adopted. They are just three of many who could show us that being adopted does not come in the way of being successful, fulfilled human beings. And positive role models are something that the Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption & Child Welfare (IAPA) understands the importance of.

Working to promote adoption for the past 33 years, they are well aware of the misconceptions that Indians have about adopted children. Even well-educated, otherwise intelligent people believe that these `children of misfortune' bring ill luck to the adoptive parents. That is why the promotion of Adoption Awareness Week, November 14-20, by IAPA was so important.

In the campaign created by Ogilvy & Mather for IAPA, the agency decided not to take the usual route of public service advertising which uses the misery and misfortune of those it seeks to help to move its target audience. Instead, the campaign draws people to the idea of adoption by evoking the warm and positive feelings that are intrinsic to it.

Social awareness campaigns can be a great opportunity for creative people. These projects allow us to apply our creativity to something a little deeper than, say, selling soap. Also, unlike most commercial clients, NGOs usually do not get caught up in unduly complicated and restrictive briefs. This results in more creative freedom. Which often translates into more exciting creative output. Consequently, the creative team earns recognition from its peers. And, of course, the social cause benefits tremendously. It is truly a `win-win' situation.

The fact that the adoption campaign struck a chord with people was evident even before it was completed. The photographer, Altaf Khan, liked the idea so much he did not even charge for material costs. Newspapers, magazines, TV channels, Web sites and hoardings site owners donated the space in which the advertisements were placed. IAPA was so happy with the response it got to the campaign, it extended it to the placards carried by the children in the Adoption Awareness Week roller-skating rally. It also gave out T-shirts printed with the campaign images in exchange for donations.

One of the things that appealed to IAPA about the O&M campaign was that the visuals could be used as a gentle tool for explaining adoption to children. Experts stress the importance of letting adopted children know the truth early on, when it is easier for them to accept it.

Srikanth, my colleague at O&M, and his wife Chitra, have just adopted a beautiful eight-and-a-half-month-old baby girl, Rhea, through IAPA. They already have a five-year-old son, Rishab, their biological child. The couple had always thought it would be good to adopt. And this year they felt that the time was ripe. Many legal requirements designed to protect the adopted child had to be fulfilled first. The process took a few months. Then, finally, they brought the little curly-haired Rhea (who, surprisingly, looks just like Chitra, her new mom!) home from the orphanage. Rhea looks wonderfully happy and secure with her new family.

"For the first few days it didn't sink in that I was Rhea's father now," says Srikanth. Then one day a friend came to visit. Rhea was in my friend's lap. Suddenly, with a big smile on her face, she lurched towards me. I took her in my arms. And that was the moment I really knew. I was her father."

Not flesh of my flesh

Nor bone of my bone

But still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute,

You didn't grow under my heart, but in it. (Author unknown)

(The writer is Senior Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising.)

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