August Agency Update

Below is the most recent update we have received from our agency. This is the most positive news we have received regarding the amount of young children. Maybe we will get a referral before Christmas yet. :)

Dear Steven & Michelle,

As summer draws to a close we have lots of news from Ethiopia to share. There is good news for families in process but there are also some changes coming to Layla House in the next few months that we need to share with you.

Usually after the Ethiopian New Year which falls on our September 11, we notice an increase in the numbers of new children coming to us for care, but it has started earlier this year. We don’t know why. But we have received news of 15 new young children who will be arriving at Layla in the next few days. As always it will take a little time to get their medical reports and social histories done but we hope to begin referring them before long. There are also some older children in the 5 to 7 year old age range, and we currently have boys waiting for families who are 5, 6 and 7. We have recently signed agreements with two new orphanages and believe that, in the next couple of months, we will be able to make referrals to many of you who have waited a long time.

Things are changing at Layla because of new government requirements. The Ethiopian government only wants children housed there who are actually in the adoption process. The older children who formerly attended the Layla School but who do not yet have identified families are all now attending a private school off the compound. If, at the end of the new school year, they are not in the adoption process (or long gone to the US as we hope) they will be returned to their original orphanages while we continue to seek adoptive parents. However, no new children will be admitted to Layla house who are above the age of seven years.

Partly because there will be few older children residing at Layla in the very near future and because it is becoming more difficult for foreigners to get papers to work in Ethiopia, Ivy Dash, who has been such a help to us with the older kids, will not be continuing. That position is being eliminated. Ivy has been such an asset in assisting with older kids as well as in helping traveling families and we are going to miss her. We are working on details of a way to honor Ivy for her hard work and dedication. We will be talking more about that on the aaiethiopia yahoo list and hope that many of you will have ideas. If you are not yet a member of that group and would like to be, email list moderator Susan Poisson-Dollar and she will issue you an invitation.

Families who are preparing to appear in court have asked what sorts of questions they will be asked. Temesgen, our lawyer, has prepared a list for us; he says not all families are asked each question but that these are the sorts of things you might be asked:

What are your names?
How many children do you have at home?
What is your reason to adopt from Ethiopia?
Did you inform your other children about the fact that you are adding an adopted child from Ethiopia?
What is your understanding about color or race?
Did you visit your adopted child before the court date?
Do you know that adoption agreement is irrevocable under the Ethiopian law?
Have you received training regarding the adoption?
Temesgen says that the maximum amount of time for this is about 5 minutes. He said the judge speaks in a soft voice and it is sometimes hard to hear. I think this is something you can feel relaxed about; at that point you should be able to answer these questions without a problem!

Gail, Temesgen, and AAI’s work in Ethiopia have been selected for a distinct honor. During the first week in September, a governmental delegation from the U.S. including two senators and Susan S. Jacobs, Special Advisor to the Office of Children’s Issues for the U.S. State Department will be in Ethiopia. They will be looking into general children’s issues but not specifically adoption. A panel of experts will make a presentation and the U.S. Embassy has asked Temesgen to be on the panel. He will be the only person on the panel representing adoption. The delegation will not visit any adoption programs but they will visit AHOPE, the orphanage for HIV positive children. The Embassy has asked Gail Gorfe to be at AHOPE to talk to the delegation about the adoption of HIV+ children. We are very proud that the U.S.Embassy recognizes AAI as being a leader in the field of adoption with a longstanding record of doing outstanding work on behalf of children.

We are currently in need of families for six basically healthy little boys between 4 and 7 years of age. You are free to mention this on your blog if you have one, and refer anyone possibly interested to Linda Lyver in the AAI office. Families must have an approved homestudy and dossier to actually put a child on hold. If anyone of you with a dossier already in Ethiopia is interested in one of these boys, we would love to hear from you as well.

Merrily and Susan Holmgren