Children's Hope is happy to welcome
home two of our families who have returned to the US, the first
week of April, from their first trips to Almaty City. Their last
in week in Kazakhstan was full of excitement as Almaty was the
first stop of 22 destinations for the Olympic torch as it finds
its way back to Beijing, China to launch the Olympic Games.
Kazakhstan was chosen as the first stop as the country will host
the Asian Winter Games in 2011. One of our traveling families
was able to watch the torch relay from their room at the Hotel
Kazakhstan in Almaty!
 |
Kazakhstan's
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, left, receives the
Olympic torch from China's Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zang
Xi Yunat at the Medeo speed skating stadium in the
mountains outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, April
2.
(AP Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko, Pool) |
This past week another family packed
their bags to travel to the Shymkent Region to bond with their
child during their first trip. We expect to receive more
referrals soon!
Dossiers Being Sent from the
Consulate:
According to the New York Consulate,
the US Embassy will resume sending dossiers to Kazakhstan. There
may be delays, however, due to a more intensive review being
conducted on dossier processing.
When you travel on your first
trip...
When adopting internationally from
Kazakhstan, a family is not given a ?referral?. Even though the
prospective adoptive parents may wish to adopt a particular
child, the Government of Kazakhstan does not match a child to
the parents or ?assign? them a child until they arrive in
Kazakhstan, select a child in person, and apply to the court to
adopt the child.
Information about medical histories
of the children and other pertinent information will be
available only at the orphanage during this selection. During
the bonding period of the first trip, the prospective parents
are required to have a minimum of 14 days of personal contact
with the orphan before they may formally submit an adoption
application. Unless in the Almaty Region (in which the parents
stay in Almaty City and visit the child at their orphanage), the
prospective parents must stay in the town where the orphan is
living and visit the orphan on a regular basis during this
two-week period. Nearly all Kazakhstani jurisdictions require
that if the applicant is a married couple, both parents must be
present for the entire 14-day bonding period.
Excerpt summary from Department
of State:
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_408.html
International Adoption to the US:
The State Department has published
their report on orphan visas issued in 2007, representing the
number of children adopted internationally into US homes last
year. The rows noted in red are countries in which Children?s
Hope works within. These numbers may give you a perspective on
adoptions through Kazakhstan compared to other countries which
participate in international adoption.
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html
(click for the entire report)
KAZAKHSTAN PROGRAM UPDATES
2008 Children's Hope International.
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