We got an incredibly encouraging email from our agency today. I debated posting the whole thing but finally decided I would. It lets you see the incredible heart behind those within AGCI. I'm still in awe at God.
Simply put?
It looks like very little of the proposed drastic changes will really take effect. I'll let you read the details.
Ethiopia Program Update
Hello Families,
Happy St. Patricks' Day! We hope this email finds you well and finding rest in God’s peace and plans for your family and your Ethiopia adoption journey!
As you know, over the past week AGCI has been working in collaboration with Joint Council, other licensed Adoption Service Providers in Ethiopia and the US Department of State to get clarity on the proposed changes instigated by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs that would have drastically reduced the number of adoptions processed by their office.
We have spent the entirety of this week and last connecting with our own Foreign Staff, participating in caucus calls led by Joint Council and the US Department of State, and independently collaborating with other Adoption Service Providers to get clear and accurate information concerning this matter. Your grace and patience has been so appreciated during this time! What we know as facts are:
MOWA posted a notice indicating as of March 10th they would be reducing the number of adoptions processed through their office to 5 cases a day.
Within days of this announcement, the director of MOWA and several other staff members from the ministry have been terminated.
Today we want to update you on the feedback we received yesterday from our foreign staff in Ethiopia, which was confirmed in a discussion with our adoption colleagues in a Joint Council caucus call later in the day.
At this time, all Foreign Staff on the ground in Ethiopia are reporting that MOWA has completed their staffing changes and are now currently working at full capacity to complete those adoption cases currently re-scheduled or assigned a court appointment through the courts of Addis Ababa. Our staff believe this to be around 800 cases they are working at full force to complete with no restrictions on the number of cases processed each day. This is great news! We are thrilled to hear these drastic changes do not seem to be going into full effect.
We are also pleased to report that for new cases moving forward; it appears the original changes proposed by MOWA will not be implemented to the degree of 5 cases a day. At this time it is unknown whether or not MOWA will issue a formal statement regarding how they will process cases in the future, but from all discussions it will not be a drastic decrease from before. Through the continued work, meetings, and advocacy of many Foreign Staff members in Ethiopia, it appears any future changes within the case processing for MOWA will avoid sweeping and disproportionate alterations to the number of cases processed each day. Rather, the hope is that MOWA, Joint Council, Adoption Service Providers, the US Department of State and other NGO organizations can come together to support the government of Ethiopia in strengthening the process for ethical adoptions to continue while also improving the general social structures to assist with family preservation in Ethiopia. This plan was acknowledged in the recent posting by the US State Department this morning at http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html. We understand the US Department of State cannot issue a formal statement without MOWA issuing a retraction. Based on the information we are receiving, MOWA is concentrating on processing the current adoptions and the new staff is not focused on numbers, but doing their jobs.
AGCI and our trusted colleagues look forward to collaborating to ensure adoptions move forward with the highest level of transparency possible. It is our commitment to carefully, ethically, and mindfully complete the adoption process on every level for orphaned children. Our hope is that as we do this in collaboration with other licensed agencies, we can also help to eliminate future concerns by MOWA and continue to build trust between their office and the adoption community at large.
Despite all this talk and discussion about proposed changes, we want to share with you some highlights from just the past two weeks in our program. Even in the midst of all these proposed changes we have seen things move in positive directions:
7 children were referred to their forever families (wait time for a referral for our most recently placed families was approximately 10 months for an infant boy and for an infant girl)
9 families and children were issued their first official court date
3 families and children were approved at a rescheduled court appointment
1 family and child was approved on their first scheduled court appointment
9 families and 10 children were cleared by the US Embassy and invited to travel to Ethiopia to complete their final immigration visa appointment and bring their children.
2 children have returned home with their forever families.
As you can see from above, our attention over the past week and this week has been not only on gathering information on this issue but also on processing adoptions for many of the children at Hannah’s Hope. We will be calling each of you to check in for your monthly updates, paperwork calls, and to connect with those of you who are already referred and in the court process. For those of you in the paperwork process, Julie Salwasser will also be continuing to step in to provide support and answer questions. Thank you for your ongoing patience!
We want to encourage you all and to share that Ethiopia is still an active adoption program! We are so blessed to be looking back at all these wonderful moments and see God’s hand at work in the stories and lives of these children He loves. Thank you for your continued passion and dedication. We look forward to all the wonderful moments yet to come as we continue to serve in Ethiopia!
There are still going to be some unknowns as we move forward, but such is the world of adoption. I'm still expecting our journey to be longer than we initially thought, but that's ok. God continues to show us that in the world full of people, He is still the one at work.
We thank you all SO much for all your prayers and ask that they continue.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! : )
Thursday, March 17, 2011
To God be the glory, great things HE has done
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Something to consider
We've been receiving daily updates on Ethiopia from our incredible agency , All God's Children, International. While there isn't always "big" news to share, it is still so nice to hear something and just gain a better understanding of everything that is going on day to day.
And speaking of our agency, I don't think I can begin to say enough incredible things. The way they've handled all of this, all of us . . .everything is so great. I can only imagined how overwhelmed they are trying to not only address the issue, but deal with many adoptive families as well and encourage us, pray with us and minister to us. . . not to mention children are still being referred (praise God!).
I had forwarded tonight's update on to some family members because I loved the way it broke up what exactly is at stake with MOWA's decision to slow down adoptions in such a drastic way but then wanted to come share it with all of you too.
I think it's easy to become indifferent with the vastness of what's in front of us and the lack of information about adoption and all that it entails (as far as where specifically those huge amounts of money go and the process it takes to pursue adoption). It's easy to make generalizations.
And while I can't fathom the total pain of a birth mother who has lost her child wrongly, and everything should be done to prevent this, here's a great big picture of how MOWA's decision will affect the orphans of Ethiopia and the birth families this decision is trying to protect. It's well worth reading.
Post from Tom DiFilipo, Executive Director of JCICS
March 9, 2011
Statement on Children and Family Services in Ethiopia
The work of Joint Council on International Children’s Services includes the development and implementation of the highest standards and ethical practices, the support of children living outside of family care and advocacy for permanency. As a leader in the international child welfare community, we are deeply concerned about the well-being of Ethiopian children and the integrity of the intercountry adoption process. Respecting Ethiopian culture and sovereignty, we offer the following for consideration as we collectively serve Ethiopian children and families and partner with others in supporting the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia.
Children need families – Who we are as human beings is largely influenced by our genes and our environment. The attention, affection, responsiveness, consistency, communication and interaction of a family have profound effects on all aspects of human development especially in the earliest stages of life. No institution, regardless of how well organized and funded it may be, can replace the nurturing, safety and guidance of a family.
Birth families need accessible, efficient and well-funded alternatives – Relinquishing a child is a painful decision for any birth parent or extended family member. This is especially true in remote and rural areas where few alternatives exist. If intercountry adoption is to decrease over time, birth families need accessible and reliable social service programs to support them. To date, many adoption service providers and other NGOs, are filling this gap in Ethiopia. Joint Council partner-members are contributing over 16 million per year to family preservation and community development programs that strive to keep vulnerable children and families together. They are assisting 1.2 million vulnerable individuals per year that otherwise would not receive these services.
Institutionalization can hurt children – Quotas and other drastic measures mean that children currently living in orphanages will reside in an institution longer. Sixty years of multinational human development research on institutionalized children, such as the Bucharest Early Intervention Study, indicates that the longer a child is in an orphanage the progressively worse their social, language, fine motor and gross motor skills become. Any change to the intercountry adoption process needs to carefully consider its effects on all children currently in orphanage care and the length of time newly institutionalized children will reside in the orphanage to complete their adoption process.
There are nearly 5 million orphaned children – This is nearly 13 percent of the child population in Ethiopia. These children need a family for love and support so they grow into productive adult members of our global community and retain their inherent human rights. There need to be support services for vulnerable children including adoption. At present, intercountry adoption only serves .001 percent of all orphaned children in Ethiopia. This fraction of a percentage, while rising, is not disproportionate to the number of children in need.
Various manners to combat corruption – Corruption is deplorable in all its forms especially when children’s lives are at stake. There are numerous manners to prevent, discourage, and punish corruption without punishing children, families of birth and adoptive families. A gardener who wants to beautify a landscape does not cut the weeds in his garden by a certain percent. Rather, he mindfully detects the weeds and eliminates them from the root up. A quota, no matter how small, will not eliminate corruption. It simply reduces the quantity of ethical violations that can occur in an environment. In fact corruption, like a weed, can actually grow in a restricted environment if it is allowed to exist.
Children with special needs deserve special consideration – Children with special needs require care and resources that are not easily given in an orphanage setting. According to research conducted by Joint Council, 40% of children adopted from Ethiopia are considered special needs. When contemplating new policies or procedures, children with special needs deserve expedited processes or exemptions whenever possible.
Intercountry adoption is one of many solutions that can successfully assist vulnerable children. Forty years of outcomes research indicates that intercountry adoption is a positive solution for most children. While there are several other programmatic alternatives that can be designed over time, it is one of the few permanent solutions currently available that situates children in the optimal environment to reach their full potential as human beings – a family.
Keep praying- and if you haven't, please sign the petition Joint Council has created!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Ethiopia Adoptions - Please Pray!!!
Last week, some news began circulating about Ethiopia making some drastic changes to its adoption program. There's been lots of speculation as to what's going to happen and while we've yet to see how things will officially pan out, it does look like there will be some big changes coming.
Here's an update we received today from our agency and the latest information they've received from the Joint Council.
"Statement on the Pending Reduction of Intercountry Adoption in Ethiopia
Last week the Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs announced their intention to reduce intercountry adoptions by 90% beginning March 10, 2011. The Ministry’s plan for a dramatic reduction is apparently based on two primary issues; 1) the assumption that corruption in intercountry adoption is systemic and rampant and 2) the Ministry’s resources should be focused on the children for whom intercountry adoption is not an option. Without further announcements by the Government of Ethiopia, it is our understanding that the Ministry’s plan will be initiated this week.
The Ministry’s plan is a tragic, unnecessary and disproportionate reaction to concerns of isolated abuses in the adoption process and fails to reflect the overwhelmingly positive, ethical and legal services provided to children and families through intercountry adoption. Rather than eliminate the right of Ethiopian children to a permanent family, we encourage the Ministry to accept the partnerships offered by governments, NGOs, and foundations. Such partnerships could increase the Ministry’s capacity to regulate service providers and further ensure ethical adoptions.
The Ministry’s plan, which calls for the processing of only five adoption cases per work day, will result not only in systemic and lasting damage to a large sector of social services, but will have an immediate impact on the lives and futures of children. Moving from over 4,000 adoptions per year to less than 500 will result in thousands of children languishing in under-regulated and poorly resourced institutions for years. For those children who are currently institutionalized and legally available for adoption, the Ministry’s plan will increase their time languishing in institutions for up to 7-years.
Joint Council respectfully urges the Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs to reconsider their plan and to partner with governments, NGOs and foundations to achieve their goals and avoid the coming tragedy for children and families. "
This isn't just a change that would affect OUR agency. This is ALL adoptions in Ethiopia.
We've been blessed with an agency that has been doing a great job in keeping us as informed as possible but it's all still a little big to try and wrap our minds around. Mostly, we're not trying to. It's alot of sitting back and waiting to see what happens. We believe with our entire hearts God's brought us to be where we are right now in our adoption journey and we believe He'll continue to walk in front of us.
But can we please ask for your prayers in all of this?
Without a doubt, we desire any and all adoptions to be carried out with integrity and honesty. Yet the changes Ethiopia is proposing will dramatically affect countless orphans who currently reside in orphanages, the countless families praying them home, and many families who are just beinning to consider adoption. We want HIS will in all of this.
Here's what we can do.
1. PRAY. pray. pray. For the children, the birth families, for child advocates and agencies, for the government, and adoptive families in all the different stages of adoption. It's a lot to process.
2. The Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) has put a “Call to Action” in place.
Sign the petition to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi – and pass it on!
If you have adopted from Ethiopia, please send them up to 3 photos and 50 words or less with what you would like the Ministry to know about your child – they'll compile the information and send a book to the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs. Send your photos and stories to advocate@jointcouncil.org by Sunday, March 12, 2011 to be included. Please note that sending photos and stories gives Joint Council unrestricted right to use the information you provide.
3) Share…Please send this Call to Action to family members, other adoptive parents, and everyone you know!
As we've read the information we can, I've thought a lot of John 14:27.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
It can be easy to run ahead with the "what if's" and the uncertainty in front of us. And yet God.
He has walked with us this far, stands by us now, and goes before us. And today, we're choosing to trust in a faithfulness that is bigger than the decisions of any court.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Our Adoption, Ordinary Hero & a fundraiser!
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They've made the generous gesture of offering adoptive families 40% of all product subtotals. All money is paid straight to the adoption agencies and is a huge blessing to all involved. We were able to support some friends in their fundraiser last year (remember this? : ) and we're excited to see Ordinary Hero rally around families yet again. They're even offering matching grants to some families!
They offer a selection of products for the whole family. Here's some of their items to peek at:
Who doesn't love a good tote! It's bigger than it looks.
Need a baby gift? : )
This is one of their newer shirts
This one is SO soft too - my girls have loved wearing this over a long sleeve this winter
And another latest addition that is officially my new favorite?My birthday is in may . . .just saying. Size small. cough. cough. : )
Ordinary Hero plans to update the site with new products occasionally too - so keep an eye out.Here's the big catch. In order for your order to benefit our adoption, you have to use our specific link Ordinary Hero has provided us with. You can view the products and place orders at:
http://www.changetheworldforone.com/shoppingcart/hero/idevaffiliate.php?id=169
I've placed a banner on the side of my blog for you to access any time more quickly. If you ever have any questions about sizing or the products, feel free to email me at raprevo@yahoo.com.
And in case you're wondering what we're doing these days when it comes to adoption?
LOTS of paperwork. : )
We've finished about 95% of our home study paperwork (YAYYYYYY!) and attended an adoption training with our home study agency last friday. It was so informative and such a good day. We met two other local families who are adopting from Ethiopia AND using the same agency. What a blessing!
Our home study visits begin next week and we'll keep plugging away at our still very large pile of paperwork to do for our adoption agency. One bit at a time.
We appreciate your continued prayers!
Happy 2nd Birthday!
My two little munchkins turn two today. Seems unreal - and yet I love getting to watch my girls grow up. These two are quite the pair. Always busy. Always ready to play. And even better? Always ready for a snuggle.
I was going to try and get a sweet, smiling shot of the two of them when I observed this moment this morning and thought it might be the more authentic shot of the two these days.
This is my two at their best.
All day long.
Most days.
At times it pushes me beyond my patience. At times it exasperates me.
But it's also why I love these two.
Life is an adventure with my girls and when we have fun, we have lots of fun.
We had their 2 yr check up yesterday and we're thankful for growing girls.
Kate: 24 1/2 lbs (22%) and 33 1/2 in (42%)
Olivia: 25 1/2 lbs (25%) and 33 3/4 in (50%).
The big change? Olivia outweighed Kate for pretty much the first time (I think there was one other exception). But the reason was same this time: Our Kate's been sick the past week and a half (bad cough/cold) and her appetite has been pretty slim. It's funny though because when their closer in weight, others have a harder time telling them apart. Makes for some fun times. : )
I never know what my days will hold but I know they'll never be boring with these two.
I love you Kate and Olivia!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Aunt Amy!
My sister Amy came to visit the other week. It was so fun to have her here. The girls were so excited to go pick her up from the airport.
On a random side note - another super fun part to Amy visiting was that my sister Alisa also came in for a whopping 24 hours. I can't remember the last time we've been able to hang out without kids (well, most of them : ) ), and it was so fun to be able to run around town and just be with my sisters. Makes me wish they lived nearby. We didn't get a single picture of the 3 of us though.
She was quite proud of the results.
Olivia and Amy reading books
Playing dolls with Aunt Amy
We did a lot of random organizing and decorating while Amy was here - the girls had a ball helping me put together their new shelves.
Thanks for coming Amy - we miss you already!
