Sunday, December 6, 2009

Inexhaustibly For Anya - Bring Anya Home


Hi Friends,

I know, I am late getting the lastest Top Chef blog up. It will get here eventually.

I have been busy with a few things, including helping out a good cause. Inexhaustibly For Anya - Bring Anya Home.

Keri Cahill of Massachusetts is attempting to save the life of Anya... a homeless orphan living on the streets of a Siberian Coal Mining town. It all began about 4 years ago when Keri successfully adopted Anya's sister Nastia. After the adoption, Nastia became aware of a sister living in Siberia that she only had faint memories of. It turns out that the two girls were in fact sisters, and separated when they were both lost into the orphanage system.

Anya is currently 18 and no longer eligible for adoption, and has been released from the system to the streets. She is trying so desperately to avoid being swallowed by the sex trade and drugs. With Keri's guidance from the other side of the world, they have been successful so far. As an orphan in Russia, you are not permitted to travel freely, and need government authorization to travel to Moscow. This process took Keri about 3 years. Anya is currently in Moscow and presented herself at the US Embassy fully expecting to get a student visa as she had all the documentation and enrollment forms for Salem State College. Her visa has been denied, largely based on a whim of an Embassy staffer.

We, Keri’s friends, have started a grassroots social media and letter writing campaign, and have gotten both Senator Kerry, and Senator Kirk involved. The process is currently in the works to approach Secretary Clinton through a contact Keri has in Washington.

We drastically need more exposure to this story. We have had television press on both the local ABC affiliate and NECN. The Boston Globe and the Salem Evening News have also done stories. For links and more details you can check http://www.bringanyahome.org/ and our Facebook page "Inexhaustibly For Anya - Bring Anya Home". Our Facebook group has over 2500 followers.

Please check out the web site and help out if you can. You can also follow us on Twitter. @bring_anya_home.

Thanks.
Jack

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