ETHIOPIA PROGRAM UPDATES
Ethiopia families have been
celebrating this past month with referrals. Nine children have
been referred to eight families since September 10, with one
family receiving a referral for twin girls! The youngest
referral received was for a 6-week-old infant girl. These
children were referred from three orphanages Children?s Hope is
currently working within in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian courts reopened after
the rainy season, on October 1. Court officials have not
completed processing all of the adoptions submitted for court
dates prior to their closing in August; therefore, there is a
slight delay in processing Ethiopia dossiers and adoptions.
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There are currently 103 families
going through the adoption process with Children?s Hope
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16 of those families have
dossiers in country; nine of whom have been matched with a
referral
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3 families have completed their
adoptions and are home with their children
Meeting Birth Relatives of Your Ethiopian
Children
Many families will have the
opportunity to meet a birth relative of your child while you?re
in Ethiopia, but not all families will. Some children will not
have a living relative, or perhaps that relative does not desire
to have a meeting with the adopting parents, for various
reasons. The birth relative is the one who says ?yes? or ?no?
regarding whether a meeting will take place.
When the meeting does take place, it
will always be after the adoption has been finalized in the
court (for those families who may be traveling prior to the
court date), and the meeting will be arranged for you by our in
country representative and the director of the orphanage where
your child lived prior to coming to Children?s Hope transition
home, House of Hope. The meeting will be held at the previous
orphanage of the child, which will give you an opportunity to
visit your child?s orphanage at that time as well. The birth
relative will enjoy having a photo of the child as a keepsake
and if you?d like to leave a short letter with the birth
relative, that would be acceptable. Photographs and video tapes
can be taken at the orphanages, but you will want to ask
permission before you take any photos of the other children, the
orphanage itself, the staff or any birth relatives. Most likely
the photos will be allowed, but you will want to ask first.
Orphans from the first orphanage
Children?s Hope sponsorship program is launching within, in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Many of these precious children are
available for sponsorship; visit
www.helpanorphan.org
to learn more.
If you would like to share your
thoughts, experiences or stories about your adoption, email:
Jennifer Newcomb at
Jennifer.Newcomb@ChildrensHope.net
We would love to post your family
pictures.
2007 Children's Hope International.
All rights reserved.