To view information on Coronavirus COVID-19 click here.
Our weekend adoptive families retreat aims to support and celebrate the resilience of parents and enable you the opportunity to reflect on your journey through shared learning and networking. Parents will come together for relaxed weekend as well as focus on self-care to enhance feelings of safety, health and happiness.
We are still confirming the program but can confirm our Guest Speaker is Joel De Carteret; http://joeldecarteret.com/ who will join us for the entire weekend with the focus centered around Identity and Belonging.
Joel is an adult adoptee born in the Phillipines. Joel’s remarkable journey proves the power of love can overcome impossible odds. There’s an extraordinary ending to this story, but it begins with heartbreak. As a five year old Joel got hopelessly lost from his mother when he wandered away from the family home and into a bustling city market in the Philippines. He searched and searched but couldn’t find her, and eventually was taken to an orphanage. Imagine his despair as for the next 18 months this little boy contemplated a future with little hope. But Joel is plucky and also lucky. He’s adopted by a caring and loving Australian family. He goes on to lead a happy and successful life here, except something is always missing. Six months ago, 30 years after getting lost, Joel de Carteret couldn’t ignore the pain any longer. He had to find his birth mother. But in a country of one hundred million, where would he even start to look.
What’s included in the retreat?
Arrive on Saturday morning with the day kicking off around 10.00am on Saturday morning; we aim to finish around 3.00pm on Sunday afternoon.
Daylesford is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Melbourne depending on where you live.
Key Dates:
Note:
As flexible funding is unable to support adoptive parents this retreat is specifically aimed at adoptive parents only with places limited to 30. If respite for your child/ren is required then that too can be arranged on a needs basis.
Sometimes cancellations are unavoidable due to unforeseeable circumstances so for this retreat we will implement a ‘stand-by’ list of parents who agree to make themselves available to attend at short notice.
