It has been awhile since I have blogged about Ethiopian adoption and am happy to be back on target. Ethiopian adoption has undergone some recent improvements to their adoption program. This is good news for those who are interested in adoption from this country. In the past, Ethiopian adoption has struggled under fraud and paper mishandling. This caused a major slowdown in the processing of dossiers. The backlog caused from this slowdown has been dealt with and Ethiopia is regaining its lost ground.
One of the problems that the Ethiopian adoption program faces is that it has little governmental regulation in place and great need. Those two items coupled can cause trouble. Ethiopia is gaining better control of their program and working a lot of the kinks out. Unfortunately, this is a long-term process. Be aware of that and take care to cover your bases fully.
The question that some people might ask of me is, “Why are you so negative about Ethiopian adoption?”
My answer is simple, “I am trying to give each person reading a realistic view of what is and can happen.”
I am actually in full support of adoption from Africa and know that the need is so very great. I just want to stress that if you are interested in adopting from Ethiopia, use a reputable agency. The United States government puts out a list of agencies that they approve of. This is great for prospective adoptive parents. I know of many families who have tried to use personal sources and ended up spending a lot of time and money only to find out in the end that the child they were promised had more problems than they are told or other major pitfalls. There is nothing in place to regain the money, time and heartache that occurs in these situations. Consider researching other people’s experiences. This will offer valuable information for each prospective adoption person.
There is a great need for adoptive parents in this area. Poverty and disease run rampant. The children often lose their parents and must care for younger family members. They are hungry. Adoption can change that. Adoption offers hope to the hopeless. There is no better way to make a difference. At this point, Ethiopia is not party to the Hague Convention and does not hold to its statutes. They are processing dossiers quicker and working hard to make their program move smoothly.
~Angie
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