KidSave program helps foster children other countries to spend time with families in US

A 13-year-old foster child from Colombia is hoping to soon be adopted in the United States.

His name is Aaron, and he's currently living with a family in Rancho Cucamonga until the end of the year, to see if it might be a good fit.

"Aaron is so sweet; he's like super adaptable to everything," said Tracy Burrell, who is fostering Aaron for three weeks. "I know the food is different; the culture is different; we even bathe differently. Everything is different. But for him, I'll say 'Do you want to try this?' and he'll say OK."

Burrell is fostering Aaron through a program called KidSave, which helps parents to foster children from other countries for short periods of time.

The organization specializes in helping older children from Sierra Leone, Ukraine and Colombia find foster homes in the United States.

"We have been working with Colombia since 2003," said Carolina Moreno, the KidSave program manager in Colombia. "Sincethen we've brought around 2,300 kids to the United States. And about 76% of them have been adopted.

KidSave offers summer and winter programs. Children spend between three and five weeks in the United States before returning home.

"Our families are very loving and caring, they all come from different environments," said Moreno. "The purpose in bringing them is to expose them to family life in the United States, but for the families to better prepare themselves for an adoption."

So far, Burrell said she's taken Aaron to several Christmas events; they've even eaten at In-N-Out.

She's hoping to take Aaron to the mountains where he'll be able to experience snow for the first time.

"It's like an experience they'll have for the rest of their lives," said Burrell. "Some of them have never eaten the food here; some of them have never been to Disneyland. And to see their faces, you get to see them go through this month of firsts in a sense."

Burrell doesn't know yet if she'll be able to adopt Aaron, but with everything he'll experience over the next few weeks she'll hopes it give Aaron hope at what happens next.

"It's like a puzzle," said Burrell. "You're putting this puzzle together, and even though it might not be completed with you, you're a part of it."