It is amazing to me the number of people who are moving forward with their adoption plans from Ethiopia. As Ethiopia has greatly reduced the number of adoption cases that it is processing daily to 5. That is a 90% drop from the previous case rate. Yet, people continue to submit paperwork and wait patiently for their chance to adopt from this area.
There were a lot of rumors circulating regarding orphanage closures throughout the Southern Nations of Ethiopia. These rumors were confirmed on August 3rd in a confirmation notice sent out from the Ethiopian government. The notice stated that there were several orphanages whose doors were closed and licenses revoked. On this list were:
SOS Infant Ethiopia (Arbuminch, Dilla, Awassa.) Gelgella Integrated Orphans (Tercha, Durame.) Bethzatha Children’s Home Association (Sodo, Hosaena, Diila, Awassa.) Ethio Vision Development and Charities (Dilla.) Special Mission for Community Based Development (Hosaena.) Enat Alem Orphanage (Awassa.) Intiative Ethiopia Child and Family Support (Awassa.) Resurrection Orphanage (Hosaena.)
The notice states that all of the children from these orphanages have been transferred. The question now is whehter the government will continue to process the adoption path that many of these children are on. As of now, for the children who have been matched with prospective parents and are orphans (with both parents deceased) the process is supposed to continue. The other children who have been voluntarily surrendered will each be placed under an extensive review that will be completed in a case by case basis. This review is slated to last about one month. I am not certain how many of the reviews will be done at the same time.
If you are adopting from Ethiopia, the Ethiopia government encourages you to keep in close contact with your adoption agency. They are releasing information as it becomes available. For those of you who do not understand why the Ethiopian government has slowed its program, delayed adoptions and now is closing orphanages- the easiest explanation is that previously there were major infrastructure issues that resulted in highly publicized adoption cases. This has caused the Ethiopian government to pull away from their large adoption numbers and carefully review each child’s case in order to ensure that other issues do not fester.
There are many children in Ethiopia who are in need of loving homes. Contact a reputable agency that is local to you for more information about the status of this country.
Ethiopia is open for adoption (expect delays) and is not party to the Hague Convention.
~Angie
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We are a family in limbo due to the closures. We hadn’t yet read the news about matched orphans continuing the process. Is that news you just recently heard, and from where? Feel free to email me so that we can trade info.
Hi- I read the information on http://www.adoption.state.gov. It is the international adoption site for the United States. It sure stinks to be in the middle of this. I wish you the best.
~Angie