In Ethiopia, Open Doors for Foreign Adoptions

In Ethiopia, Open Doors for Foreign Adoptions
By JANE GROSS and WILL CONNORS
Published: June 4, 2007

ST. PAUL —
Ethiopia was not on Mark and Vera Westrum-Ostrom’ s list when they first visited Children’s Home Society & Family Services here to explore an international adoption.

From Ethiopia to Minnesota Ukraine was first, because of their family heritage, until the couple discovered that the adoption system there was chaotic, with inaccurate information about orphans’ health and availability.Vietnam was second, after they saw videos of well-run orphanages. But the wait would be at least a year and a half.

Then they learned about Ethiopia’s model centers for orphans, run by American agencies, with an efficient adoption system that made it possible for them to file paperwork on Labor Day and claim 2-year-old Tariku, a boy with almond eyes and a halo of ringlets, at Christmas.

From Addis Ababa, the capital city, they traveled to the countryside to meet the boy’s birth mother, an opportunity rare in international adoption. And at roughly $20,000, the process was affordable compared with other foreign adoptions, and free of the bribes that are common in some countries. It is no wonder, given these advantages, that Ethiopia, a country more often associated by Americans with drought, famine and conflict, has become a hot spot for international adoption.

Even before the actress Angelina Jolie put adoption in Ethiopia on the cover of People magazine in 2005, the number of adoptions there by Americans was growing. The total is still small — 732 children in 2006, out of a total of 20,632 foreign adoptions, but it is a steep increase, up from 82 children adopted in 1997.

Ethiopia now ranks 5th among countries for adoption by Americans, up from 16th in 2000. In the same period, the number of American agencies licensed to operate there has grown from one to 22. The increasing interest in Ethiopia comes at a time when the leading countries for international adoption, China, Guatemala and Russia are, respectively, tightening eligibility requirements, under scrutiny for adoption corruption and closing borders to American agencies.

Ethiopia’s sudden popularity also comes with risks, say government officials there and in America.“I don’t think we’ll be able to handle it,” said Haddush Halefom, an official at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which oversees adoption. “We don’t have the capacity to handle all these new agencies, and we have to monitor the quality, not just the quantity.”

Capping the number of agencies is one solution. And that is what some international adoption officials in the United States are now urging the Ethiopian government to do.

Of concern is the ability of agencies to handle the rising demand, which may have contributed to a recent mix-up involving two families sent home with the wrong children by Christian World Adoption, an established agency, although relatively new to Ethiopia. That case prompted inquiries by the State Department and the nonprofit Joint Council on International Children’s Services in Virginia, a child welfare and advocacy organization, and the adoption agency itself, said Thomas DiFilipo, president of the joint council.

Officials at Christian World Adoption did not reply to e-mail messages or telephone calls. But Mr. DiFilipo said the agency was reviewing its procedures and has hired immigration lawyers to resolve the mix-up.The consensus, Mr. DiFilipo said, is that the mix-up was “an honest mistake.” But, he added, “This could be the byproduct of a staff handling 35 placements when they’re used to handling 20.”

Children’s Home Society & Family Services, founded in 1889, began working in Ethiopia in 2004. The agency completed about 300 adoptions in its first three years in Ethiopia, and expects to complete that many in 2007 alone. Along with Wide Horizons For Children in Waltham, Mass., the society is credited with helping Ethiopia create a model for international adoption.

Ethiopia, with a population of 76 million, has an estimated 5 million children who have lost one or both parents, according to aid organizations. Many African nations have outlawed or impeded the adoption of their children by foreigners.

Ethiopia has welcomed American and European families who are willing to provide homes for children who have lost both parents to AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or starvation, or who come from families too destitute to feed and clothe them. (The adoption process includes routine screening for HIV infection.)

Two elements distinguish Ethiopia’s adoption system, according to dozens of experts. One is the existence of transitional homes for orphans, in the countryside and in the capital, with services and staffing that are rare in the developing world — paid for by American agencies.


Not long ago, Sandra Iverson, a nurse practitioner from the University of Minnesota’s international adoption health clinic, the first of its kind in the United States, was invited to visit the Children’s Home Society’s Ethiopian centers. She arrived with a neonatal otoscope, to diagnose ear infections; the Red Book, the bible of pediatrics; and scarce antibiotics. She left confident that Ethiopia’s orphans enjoyed unusual care. “You don’t hear crying babies,” Ms. Iverson said. “They are picked up immediately.”

The other signature of the Ethiopian system is that adopting families are encouraged to meet birth families and visit the villages where the children were raised, a cutting-edge practice in adoptions. Some agencies provide DVDs or photographs that document the children’s past.


Russ and Ann Couwenhoven, in Ham Lake, Minn., recently showed one such video to 6-year-old Tariku, one of three children they have adopted from Ethiopia. The boy seemed proud of the beautifully painted house he had lived in, they said, and the uncle who had sheltered him for as long as he could.

Linda Zwicky brought 2-year-old Amale home five days before the Memorial Day weekend, with a letter from the child’s grandmother that described holding the motherless infant at her breast even though she had no milk. Sometimes such vividness is too much. Melanie Danke and her husband, of Minneapolis, adopted 6-year-old twins and a 3-year-old, all siblings. One of the twins “would work herself up until she was inconsolable” looking at photos of the aunt and grandmother who raised her, Ms. Danke said. So she has tucked the photos away for now.

David Pilgrim, vice president of adoption services at the Children’s Home Society, said the agency spends $2 million a year on its Ethiopian facilities. At the main transitional home, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, a staff of 170 care for about 120 children, ensuring that the children have consistent contact with adults, which experts say mitigates the most damaging psychological effects of institutionalizatio n.

During a reporter’s recent visit, the two terra-cotta buildings where the children live, usually for no more than a few months, were spotless, with staff members scurrying to pick up toys and food spills as they hit the floor. The transitional home has a primary school, open also to local students, where the children begin learning English. There is a medical clinic with two full-time doctors and 10 nurses. Down the road is a guest house for adoptive parents, who also can stay in a sleek hotel.

The children also enjoy the services of a “laugh therapist,” Belachu Girma.“These kids come here and are very depressed at first, all with their heads down and not talking,” Mr. Girma said. “I come in and try to help them relax.”

There was laughter also at the nearby guest house, more of the nervous kind, as American parents waited to take their children back to St. Paul from the Horn of Africa.

Araminta and Jason Montague, from Atlanta, who picked up 17-month-old Natan last week, compared their experience in Ethiopia to an earlier adoption of a girl from China (where Americans adopted 6,493 children in 2006). “Our daughter was in an orphanage with about 300 children and she was very dehydrated,” Ms. Montague said. “We were never told her origins. Her sheet just said ‘Status: Abandoned.’ ”

Some parents anguished, as did Karla Suomala of Decorah, Iowa, when she arrived in Addis Ababa to adopt 5-year-old Dawit and his 21-month-old sister Meheret. “It’s hard to know what the right thing is to do,” Ms. Suomala said. “Should we just give all the money we’re spending on this to the children’s mother?” Ms. Suomala and her husband, David Vasquez, had already spent time with her. “It was obvious the birth mother loved her children,” Mr. Vasquez said. “She said to us, ‘Thank you for sharing my burden.’ ”

Alessandro Conticini, the head of child protection at Unicef Ethiopia, is one of many who believe that international adoption is a good thing but must be “part of a larger strategy” that focuses on keeping children in their families or communities, with the help of humanitarian organizations.

Indeed, the Ethiopian government has taken the unusual step of requiring foreign agencies to provide social services and document the results. As a result, agencies like Children’s Home Society and Wide Horizons have built schools and medical facilities — including one for HIV-infected children. But Mr. Conticini, of Unicef, worries about the mushrooming number of private adoption companies that “are not properly regulated by the government” because two different ministries are involved and working at cross purposes.

At the State Department, visa applications for children adopted from Ethiopia are getting extra attention, said Catherine M. Barry, deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizens services. “We will very quickly see if patterns are emerging,” she said, “and we will intervene in a timely fashion with anyone doing less than quality work.”

While the governments collaborate to protect a delicate adoption system from the perils of growth, adoptive families arrive each week in Addis Ababa to ease their children into new lives. Last week, these included Mr. Vasquez and Ms. Suomala. While she had no trouble escorting Meheret from the orphanage, Dawit refused to budge, so Mr. Vasquez carried him toward the gate. There, the child grabbed the bars and would not let go. Mr. Vasquez considered prying his hands loose and thought better of it. Instead he told Dawit that it was O.K. to cry.

Don't watch this it's my turn to fight
Just turn around and try to close your eyes
You'll hear people swearing at my name
Don't worry I'll win back this crowd for you
There's nothing I won't do

I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you

This may hurt but something keeps me strong
No one wins, but I'll tear down these walls
You'll be waiting and it'll seem like an eternity
Just look now at the crowd
It's for you it's for you

I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you

You don't have to worry we will never come back to this place
Cos I'm killing all our doubts
Now the horses will carry us away

I'll bring my swords and I'll win this fight for you
I'll bring back gold and I'll pay them off for you
I'll bring you hope and it won't ever die
It's true this war was won for you

~Tim Mahoney

Dawit

Well....it certainly has been a while since I last wrote in here. I suppose because I've been quite busy. There's a lot to say, but one experience has been solidified in my mind since I witnessed it about three weeks ago.

His name is Dawit. If you have viewed the pictures throughout the past months you are familiar with one of his 'sister's,' Elsa. It is a sibling group of three that now resides at the orphanage, including Beatty, their older sister who is 9 years old. I did not know that Beatty and Elsa were siblings until Dawit arrived. I had never seen them together nor had anyone mentioned that Elsa had family within the orphanage or outside. Most of the children's history is a mystery as I do not want to conjure up painful memories of them losing their parents whether they were abandoned at birth or lost them due to death later in life and therefore still have vivid memories of their parents. And even if I am told, it often is incorrect and inconsistent.

Dawit is about 2 years old. He arrived at the orphanage just three weeks ago. I visited the orphanage on a Wednesday to donate some items that had come in the mail and immediately it was brought to my attention that there was a new arrival. 'His name is Dawit and it is Elsa and Beatty's brother.' I was completely amazed at the revelation. How does a child, one of just 2 years old become abandoned and have two other siblings in the same orphanage?

After constant nagging for about half an hour I learned that Dawit lived with his mother until that Tuesday when he was stripped from her arms. The only caregiver he had ever known, he was separated from her. Irregardless of the reason for why it had to be that way, Dawit didn't know the difference, one minute he had a mommy and the next he did not. Stripped from her arms he arrived at Kechene, without knowing anyone in the home he was brought to his 'siblings' who he had never met, Elsa and Beatty. Beatty didn't show any interest in this new addition to the Kechene family but 5 year old Elsa took it upon herself to care for her little brother.

I've never witnessed such grief nor profound love in my life. Nothing but Elsa could calm little Dawit's heart. He cried when he lost eye contact with her. If her 30 lb little body couldn't hold his weight any longer and she was forced to put him down, he sobbed. He just wanted to be hugged. Just imagine a 5 year old trying to hold and pick up a toddler. The imagine itself is heartwrenching. He didn't want food, he didn't want toys, he just wanted someone to love him, someone to comfort his fears in this new place. Elsa was now a mother, at 5 years old. She couldn't eat her lunch without having to comfort him and help him eat. She couldn't run around the orphanage grounds playing tag with the other kids cos Dawit couldn't keep up and would cry if she was more than 5 steps away, Elsa couldn't color with the rest of the kids because Dawit didn't want to sit near the others. Her childhood has been lost, and though I hope that Dawit will soon acclimate into the environment of the orphanage, no child should have to do so nor should any 5 year old have to parent a toddler. But it happens and often in the worst of circumstances. Elsa is considered lucky in most respects, she has the staff and children of the orphanage to help support her. Others her age do not, but live within the community on their own, sometimes discriminated against due to the reason their parents died. First orphaned and left alone and then stigmized against without any protection and felt to fend for themselves. I think of this little boy and Elsa everyday and the impact her trying to hold her little brother in her arms has had on my life.

*I apologize for any mistakes, I've only had 1 hour of sleep in the last 36 hours. I must get to bed.

Ethiopia's Underground Children

Please visit the following site for photos and captions on Ethiopia's Underground Children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/africa_underground_children/html/1.stm

Death

Death. I’ve never really had to give it much thought. I’ve been blessed with a healthy family and group of friends. Today, a little life was lost. His name is Yabsera and his picture is on this homepage. It’s amazing what can be taken for granted. Did I give him a hug when I last left the orphanage on Saturday? Did he know how much he made me smile when he would run as fast as he could into my arms? But more importantly, did anyone else know how much he loved to color? How much just being held meant to him? That he ate like a little pig all the time and I loved him for it? Does his mother or father know that their son has left this world for a better place? Who loved him? Was he loved enough? Did he feel any pain as his little heart beat too fast for his little body and finally gave out? Does he know that someone loved him? And that I have cried for him all day? That, as I write this there is no way to stop my tears. Another angel has left this world, an orphaned angel. And as I think about the other two children still in the hospital right now, I am not taking for granted that they may return to Kechene soon. Children here die everyday. Hundreds in fact, but what I hope is that none have left this world unloved. Yabsera, was certainly loved and will be missed. His crib where I used to pick him up from after his nap is now empty and will probably soon be filled by another orphaned child. However, he will never be forgotten. Goodbye my angel. I love you.

Please visit the following link. It is an example of how the civil war has affected a village in northern Uganda. No family survived in tact. Many killed and abducted. The lucky ones escaped but now they must live with the reality of losing their family, being forced to fight and commit atrocious crimes and killings, and somehow continue to live. Please take the time to read it. It is one of the worst and yet unknown genocide of our time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/6499065.stm

Journal I wrote last night:

Why is it that I never know what to say? Am I too afraid to recognize my own fears? Do I really just have nothing of importance to say? Life is life. I know nothing of it yet I'm expecting myself to understand every hurdle that comes my way and how to best jump over it. Do I ignore it and take the easy way out (what is the easy way?) or do I run through it and meet my fears straight on? It seems like such an easy question to answer: go for it and take a chance, another one among many I have already taken. But what is this chance I'm about to take? There are five ways to run into this hurdle and which am I supposed to leap toward?
Live life as you've always dreamed. What if I'm dreaming of five different lives? What then? Live for yourself they say but life with youself isn't worth living if the ones you love aren't happy as well. I'm at my life's crossroad and though its always been so easy for me to decide before, I'm at a complete loss with what to do with myself. Take the immediate left and I'll be happy. Take the far right turn and I'll be just as happy. But there's one thing I can't leave behind. That I could never be happy without because my life could never be the same again. And though I know what I must do, the battle is ever fierce and without me here will never be completed. And so the question remains: why is it that I never know what to say? Or am I just too afraid to hear the reply?