Building Community for Filipino Adoptees: Reflections from RACCO

Last April, I got into contact with RACCO-7 to ask if there were any local, adoptee-centered initiatives here in Cebu. After finding a handful of initiatives online, I decided to reach out, curious if there were any local plans to establish one in the Philippines.

They invited me to their office, where I had the opportunity to share the work and progress of AdoptedPH. According to them, there had been talks of developing an adoptee-centered group for children, joined by their adoptive parents. They were also open to the idea of creating small, casual meetups for adult adoptees to establish a safe and consistent space for connection.

Yet despite these conversations, most would probably ask:

Why are these spaces needed?

Don't local adoption organizations already exist? What do Filipino adoptees even need support for? They already have adoptive families, right?

 

Support Matters

They also asked about my history and what made me want to do this. I wanted to maintain full transparency as much as possible, regardless of the outcome, to provide further context behind AdoptedPH and why I started the page in the first place.

I learned that adoption doesn't just end when you sign the papers, nor are adoptee experiences constrained to the legal process of adoption or changes to a birth certificate.

One of the reasons I started AdoptedPH was because of the limited online resources available for Filipino adoptees.

Most existing support structures are primarily oriented towards adoptive parents, while there continues to be a lack of adoptee-centered support spaces. Filipino adoptees, particularly adults, can need a dedicated and safe environment to process their identity, history, and lived experiences.

Along with this, there also seems to be a lack of Filipino adoptee perspectives within the broader discourse surrounding adoption.

Adoption is often discussed through the perspectives of agencies, adoptive parents, and prospective families. But what about the people who actually grew up adopted?

Where do Filipino adoptees fit into the conversation?

Community Interest

After the meeting, I was grateful for the opportunity to connect with the office and gain some insight into how the adoption system currently operates.

I decided to create a survey for Filipino adoptees to better understand what kinds of community spaces they might want. A handful of adoptees responded, and while the number was small, the responses shared a common concern: there continues to be a lack of adoptee-centered spaces.

The responses came from people with different experiences, backgrounds, and ideals, including Filipino adoptees living in different parts of the world. Their stories are not all the same, and their needs are not identical.

But there was a common thread.

The need for connection.

 

This is why AdoptedPH is interested in starting small.

Community doesn't necessarily have to begin with a large organization, formal program, or nationwide initiative. It can begin with a few adoptees sitting together over coffee, sharing experiences, or simply meeting someone else who understands what it means to grow up adopted.

For Filipino adoptees in Cebu, elsewhere in the Philippines, and around the world, we want to explore what those spaces could look like.

We don't have all the answers yet.

We're asking the community what they need—and we're listening.

If you're a Filipino adoptee and want to stay updated on future community meetups, discussions, and initiatives, you can join the AdoptedPH community on Reddit or follow us on Instagram.

You can also fill out our Community Interest Form to let us know you're interested in connecting with other Filipino adoptees.