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Michigan Family To Adopt Three Ukrainian Teenagers

Posted at 11:24 PM, Jun 16, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-16 23:24:06-04

NOVI, Mich (June 16, 2014)-  It’s a country that’s seen a lot of turmoil lately and now some of the orphans in Ukraine are getting too old for the system.

According to WDIV, Kathe and Tom Ray from Novi already have 6 children, ranging from ages 13 to 31, and thought they were done adding to their family. But this week, they’re heading to Ukraine to adopt three teenagers. Officials say once children there turn 16, they age out of the orphanage system and are left to fend for themselves with little education.

The Rays knew about the situation after adopting their son, Vlad from there last year. He came to the United States with a short-term hosting program, but soon, his host family could no longer care for him. That’s when the Rays stepped in.

“I kind of went nah and it kind of bugged me for a few days. So I mentioned it to my husband and he said sure why not we have a couple of teenagers,” said Kathe Ray.

Kathe says she’s looking forward to adopting her new children this week, and adds that they’ll have a great future with them in Metro Detroit.

The family is blogging about their experience. If you’d like to read about it, just click here.

To see the original report from WDIV, click here.