George Thompson plays with his daughter, Tara, next to his wife, AnnMarie Glodich, and their son, Seth Thompson-Glodich. The Lawrence family was caught in the middle of an international adoption stalemate when attempting to adopt Tara from Nepal.

This is a story about love and compassion.

More specifically, it is the story of an orphan from Nepal named Tara, for the Buddhist goddess of compassion, and nicknamed Jampa, meaning loving kindness in Tibet.

It’s also about her mother, AnnMarie Glodich, who spent nearly six months in Nepal urging government officials to let her take the baby home, and her father, George Thompson, who stayed in Lawrence lobbying senators and ambassadors.

And, best of all, it’s a story with a happy ending.

On Jan. 21 – almost a year after AnnMarie first held her – Tara arrived in the United States.

The journey from Nepal to Lawrence has been a long and difficult one. For almost a year, the adoption process for Tara and some 500 other orphans was caught in the middle of government turmoil and proposed reforms. There was little movement.

“We were fighting, fighting, fighting, and all of a sudden the kids are all out and all of a sudden I have a baby,” AnnMarie said, pointing to her 14-month-old daughter with dark hair and deep brown eyes. “All of a sudden I have a baby.”

A standstill

In February 2007, the couple, looking to adopt and drawn to Nepal, were matched with Tara, then called Reshma, the name given to her by the orphanage. AnnMarie flew to Nepal and held the baby girl for the first time. Instantly, she fell in love.

At the time, the couple were told the child would be home in four months, six at the latest.

But shortly after AnnMarie’s visit, adoptions stopped. In May, the Minister of Women and Children and Social Welfare suspended the process until reforms were in place.

Another setback came in September, when the minister resigned along with other members of the Maoist Party. The reform process came to a halt.

With things at a standstill, AnnMarie had returned to Nepal in August. She brought her 6-year-old son, Seth, with her. George joined them in September.

After his visit, George brought Seth home. AnnMarie stayed behind to be with her prospective daughter. With the other waiting families, she made daily calls of actions to Nepalese politicians, pleading with them to speed along the process.

Conditions were bleak. Children had died. Many others were sick.

“Orphanages are not benign environments. Not even in the best of circumstances are they benign,” AnnMarie said. “And this is not one of the best of circumstances because Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.”

In October, the Journal-World wrote a story about the couple’s struggles. At that time, George had hoped they were weeks away from adoption. But, with the country headed into the holiday season and an election approaching, it became apparent that a resolution would be months away.

Had they known then the process would continue until January, George said he isn’t sure AnnMarie would have stayed in Nepal so long. It was heartbreaking to be away from her son, she said. But it always felt as if a breakthrough were about to happen.

“I just felt like in my heart, we could do something, and I couldn’t leave,” she said.

Homecoming

Right before Thanksgiving, news came that the Nepalese Cabinet had lifted the suspension on pending adoptions. Help came from Suresh Chandra Chalise, Nepal’s newly appointed ambassador to the United States.

There was hope that AnnMarie and Tara would make it home before Christmas. The holidays passed, Seth was asking for his mother to come home, but AnnMarie was certain that Tara’s file would start moving.

On Jan. 8, Tara’s file landed on a desk to begin processing.

“I couldn’t really believe it was happening,” AnnMarie said. “Because so many times it felt like it was going to happen and then it didn’t.”

But it did, and paperwork was in order, so by Jan. 21, AnnMarie and Tara were able to leave for the United States.

While in Nepal, AnnMarie said she held back when visiting Tara at the orphanage for fear her daughter would become too attached if AnnMarie were to leave. That has changed.

“Once I was finally able to say, OK, she is my daughter. We will get her home,’ it was like something shifted inside of me and inside of her,” AnnMarie said. “We were ready and she came home.”

When George last saw his daughter in Nepal, she was on the cusp of walking. Today, she is grabbing everything in sight, climbing stairs, kicking soccer balls, walking all over the place.

“She is really curious,” he said. “She is really smart.”

She’s also a happy baby, smiling and giggling for the camera. She says hi to visitors, and if encouraged, she’ll say “namaste,” a traditional greeting in Nepal.

AnnMarie and George say their work isn’t over. Of the 500 Nepalese orphans who were matched with parents and awaiting adoption last year, 80 or more still have files to be processed. Another 50 children could have to wait until the country approves new adoption regulations.

AnnMarie said they will continue pressuring the government.

“You know our heart and soul is in it because our daughter is from there and we were there,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll rest easy until all the kids are out.”