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Children's
Hope International
Northeast Regional Office
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 249
New York, NY 10115
877-225-4860
Tel: (212) 870-2441
Fax:
(212) 870-2210
Stephanie.Palau@ChildrensHope.net
____________________________________________________
CONGRATULATIONS TO CHILDREN’S HOPE ON BECOMING OFFICIALLY
LICENSED TO WORK IN ETHIOPIA! WHAT AN EXCITING DAY FOR US!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Children's
Hope International is pleased to announce we are officially
licensed to begin adoptions in Ethiopia! However, because
of the celebrations of this Holy week in the U.S. and in
Ethiopia, we will not be able to get official requirements and
manuals from the Ethiopian Government until next week. We will
start officially approving families on Monday, April 9, and will
start sending out approval packets at that time as well. More
details to come!
____________________________________________________
CHI Celebrates
Chinese New Year in New York
CHINESE NEW YEAR LUNCHEON
On Saturday, March 17, the Northeast/New York office held a
luncheon for our families working on dossiers and waiting for
their referrals in our China program. It was great to have such
a large attendance. There were 36 prospective adoptive parents
and 5 children present who enjoyed a delicious meal at the
Shanghai Tea Garden in midtown Manhattan.
Two of our families shared with everyone about their experiences
adopting from China, and one family who shared their referral
that they had just received! The tips they gave were invaluable
and the stories shared were so sweet and very clearly enjoyed by
all.
We hope to have many more events like this for our families
adopting from
China and will keep you posted when we book the
next one! Happy Year of the PIG!!!
____________________________________________________
CIS Approval in New York and
Meeting the May 1 Deadline Under China's New Restrictions
Anyone who is trying to register a dossier at
CCAA before May 1 and is experiencing processing delays at USCIS
in New York should contact Senator Clinton's office without
delay:
www.clinton.senate.gov/contact/
Your local contact office will be listed on this page. Let them
know that you are adopting from China and will no longer qualify
after May 1, 2007.
You will be asked to fax over a release so that Senator
Clinton's office can contact USCIS on your behalf.
____________________________________________________
Considering
Adoption from Guatemala?
We have many families ask us
about adopting from Guatemala. They want to know why CHI
no longer has a Guatemala program and what they can do if
they're interested in pursuing adoption from this country.
Our staff is happy to speak with you further on this topic.
We also recommend you visit this link for an update from the US
Government on Guatemalan adoptions:
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3147.html
____________________________________________________
CHI Joins Russian
New Year Celebration
at the Russian Consulate in NY...
January 2007
For the first time (but not
the last!), CHI and some of our Russia families joined many
other families who have adopted from Russia to celebrate the
Russian New Year. The event was held at the Russian
Consulate in January. We hope to see this event grow in
the future.
There was face painting,
photos with Santa, a clown show, and everyone enjoyed the
Russian foods and candies! Below are some photos of CHI
families from this event.
____________________________________________________
CCAA Changes
China Adoption Regulations
December 8,
2006
On December 8, the
CCAA met to discuss and finalize changes to the regulations and
qualifications for adopting from China. These changes will
impact who will be able to adopt from China. The CCAA's
formal statement has not yet been released, but if you have
questions, please contact our Northeast China Program
Coordinator by e-mailing
deepti.gurnani@childrenshope.net.
Also feel free to read this NY Times article published December
19 regarding these changes:
INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC
| December 19, 2006
China Tightens Adoption Rules, U.S. Agencies Say
By JIM YARDLEY
The new
regulations seem certain to slow the rapid rise in applications
by foreign parents to adopt Chinese babies.
And here is a link to a news
segment about China's changes featuring CHI's Director of
Publicity, Cory Barron:
http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov_localnews_061220_chinaadopt.2bc8a079.html
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US Department of
State Announces Orphan Statistics for 2006
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|
FY2006 |
FY2005 |
|
1 |
6,493 - CHINA
(Mainland) |
7,906 - CHINA
(Mainland) |
|
2 |
4,135 -GUATEMALA
|
4,639 - RUSSIA |
|
3 |
3,706 - RUSSIA |
3,783 -GUATEMALA |
|
4 |
1,376 - S. KOREA |
1,630 - S. KOREA |
|
5 |
732 - ETHIOPIA |
821 - UKRAINE |
|
6 |
587 -KAZAKHSTAN |
755 - KAZAKHSTAN |
|
7 |
460 - UKRAINE |
441 - ETHIOPIA |
|
8 |
353 - LIBERIA |
323 - INDIA |
|
9 |
344 - COLOMBIA |
291 - COLOMBIA |
|
10 |
320 - INDIA |
271 - PHILIPPINES |
|
11 |
309 - HAITI |
231 - HAITI |
|
12 |
245 - PHILIPPINES |
182 - LIBERIA |
|
13 |
187 - CHINA
(Taiwan Born) |
141 - CHINA
(Taiwan Born) |
|
14 |
163 - VIETNAM |
98 - MEXICO |
|
15 |
70 - MEXICO |
73 - POLAND AND
THAILAND (BOTH 73) |
|
16 |
67 - POLAND |
66 - BRAZIL |
|
17 |
66 - BRAZIL |
65 - NIGERIA |
|
18 |
66 - NEPAL |
63 - JAMAICA |
|
19 |
62 - NIGERIA |
62 - NEPAL |
|
20 |
56 - THAILAND |
54 - MOLDOVA |
____________________________________________________
Thank you from
Kazakhstan...
CHI was recently
officially recognized and thanked by the President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan for our humanitarian
aid efforts in this country. See the personal
note from our Director in Kazakhstan to Executive
Director, Dwyatt Gantt, along with pictures, below.
"I would
like to thank you for
supporting the activity of the charitable fund “Bala
umit” and for the realization of liberal projects
that are devoted to the improvement of children’s
life level in Kazakhstan.
CHI's
fund was awarded a Diploma of the President of the
Republic of
Kazakhstan
among 30 different contenders from different regions
of the country. The award ceremony was held on
October 23,
2006 in the residence of the
President “Akorda” in Astana. The diploma was given
by the State Secretary, Oralbay Abdykarimov.
 The
President’s decision of October 21, 2006 about
awarding the diplomas was published in central and
regional newspapers and the award ceremony was
broadcast on national and regional channels.
This is a great
success for us. Moreover among 30 organizations
there were only 2 child funds. We realize that
all the work that was done by us in
Kazakhstan
during these 2 years is done due to you and
Children’s Hope International.
Thank you a lot!!!
We will try to work even better for the blessing and
development of our children!!!!!
____________________________________________________
Update on Lifetime
Accreditation in Russia
On November 4, the Governmental
Regulation concerning the non-expiring accreditation and NGO status
for CHI was officially signed. Agencies are still waiting for
Russia to proceed with the lifetime accreditation process.
Because the Russian government shuts down for several weeks through
the Holidays, we expect to receive our
non-expiring accreditation by March. All of our documents
have been submitted... Families continue to receive referrals and
travel.
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Rules Set to
Change on Foreign Adoptions
It's something we've been
hearing about for some time now... the Hague Treaty. What
is it? The Hague Treaty is basically a set of rules or
parameters that countries and adoption agencies will have to
adhere to in order to legally place and adopt an orphan from a
foreign country. Most likely, the Hague will go into
effect in the US by the end of 2007. But what does it mean
for agencies like CHI and for adoptive parents? Click on
the picture below for an article that explains the changes on
the horizon for foreign adoption.
(We also want you to know that CHI is involved in Hague training
the week of November 6 and, due to our COA accreditation, we are
already in a good place to meet the Hague Treaty requirements!)
____________________________________________________
CHI
Launches New Church and Community Orphan Ministry!
There are so many families who are plugged into
their churches and/or communities, who have such a
love for orphans and want to do something with it.
So now, CHI has developed a new program… helping
families and linking them with our resources to
promote adoption awareness, care for orphans, and
orphan sponsorship.
This orphan ministry program will be focused on
CHURCHES and COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
If
you are interested in getting this type of ministry
going within your church or community, and need
help, please use CHI as a resource. We are here for
you and ready to help in any way that we can.
As
many of you know, November is National Adoption
Month. We plan to launch ORPHAN SUNDAY at
involved churches throughout the country sometime in
the month of November. You can help in this effort
by talking at a service, setting up a table after
the service with literature, talking with special
groups within the church, etc. This would be a very
exciting time to get things started and to let your
church truly see and understand the needs of
orphans!
If
you would like more information, literature, or
would like to speak with us on how to do this within
your church, please contact Michelle Howdeshell,
Director of Church and Community Development, at
636-379-3361 or
Michelle.Howdeshell@childrenshope.net.
THANK YOU!
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Many Hearts One Beat...
Unique Gifts for Families Formed
Through Adoption!
To see an
array of gifts appropriate for
adoptive families, visit
www.manyheartsonebeat.com.
Lisa
Adoptive Mom & Owner
MANYHEARTSONEBEAT.COM
Forever Adoption Gifts by Jacuzzo
Cre-8-Tiv Designs
336 Harris Hill Road - Suite #14 -
Williamsville, New York 14221
ph 716.632.7002 - fax 716.632.7002 -
toll-free 1.877.CRE8TIV
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"Referral Tears"
an Emotional Video that Captures Memorable Day
"Referral
Tears" Video- click here
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Don't forget to check out our "From
Our Families" link for pictures and stories from our
CHI families!
To list your new arrival, send pictures or submit a story,
e-mail
Stephanie.Palau@ChildrensHope.net.
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