My adopted parents divorced when I was 4. My father requested custody of my sister, brother and me and this was granted, which was usual in those days. Despite my father getting custody of us, he continued working in the RAF, while raising us by himself with help from relatives and friends. I had no contact with my adoptive mother for a few years, she came back into our lives for a brief period and after that, we had contact twice a year via cards. For me, there was no real relationship with her as I was too young to remember her after she left. So I have experienced divorce and the effect it can have on children.
Despite spending several holidays with my adoptive mother after she came back into our lives, for me I never regained a mother, daughter relationship with her. I know you may be saying that was because she was my adopted mother and not my birth mother, but the person I call mum was not my birth mother either and did not enter my life until I was eight but she was the only person I call my mum. My adoptive mother would have liked a closer relationship with us, but for me, the connection was lost. Each year there are over 120,000 families divorce or separate, and according to Relate 29% of children in these families do not have any contact with the other parent at all.
By creating a message board it creates a timeline for the absent person to find and they can decide if they want to reconnect with you. We are aiming to achieve a worldwide website that helps families through difficult times and allows anyone who is absent from their family to search for them. If there is a message board the person has the opportunity to get information about how their family felt and even the possibility of reconnecting with them.
