[mom81lea]

Hey there everyone. I am a former missionary kid from Rwanda and I really have a heart for the orphans there. My husband and I are going to be adopting from Rwanda in a year or so but I really want to share the info that I have incase anyone else out there is interested in reaching out to a Rwanden Orphan. God bless.---Leah

We are happy to answer these questions. As you know we finalized the adoption of our Rwandese daughter in May 2005 so we are familiar with the process.


Here are the questions she emailed to us:

1. How hard is it to adopt out of Rwanda?It is a relatively simple procedure. From the day we identified our daughter to the day we brought her home it took about four months. It is also very inexpensive when compared to adopting from other foreign countries. Your largest expenses would be traveling to Rwanda and the immigration fees for the US. The actual fees in Rwanda are less than $500.





2. Are there any adoption agencies that are working with Rwanda? Unfortunately no. Foreign adoptions are being done but people are acting on their own behalf or using someone in Rwanda to assist with the process. The vast majority of adoptions are by people coming from France.We know of an American couple from the US who has recently begun the process of adopting in Rwanda.





3. How would we find a child that we would be allowed to adopt, and who would we need to be in contact with to make that happen?One of two ways – you could travel to Rwanda and identify a child at one of the many orphanages in the country or could ask someone living here to find a child for you. We have only worked at one orphanage that, from what we have determined, appears to be placing most of the children in adoptive homes.





4.What are the chances, in your oppinion, that we could find a young child who does not have AIDS?Very good. The children at the orphanage we have worked with test all the children for HIV/AIDS. Most are brought to the orphanage at birth having never been breastfed which decreases the chances of exposure to HIV.





5.How do the national people feel about whites comming in to adopt children? Are they ok with the idea or are there negitive feelings about it? It has been our experience that they are very support and receptive to foreigners adopting children.





6. Is it possibal to adopt a very young child, under the age of 18 months?Yes. Newborns are placed at the orphanage every week. Many are never adopted and will spend their life at the orphanage. Sadly, for various reasons children are rarely adopted by Rwandan families.





7. What do you think about us or anyone adopting out of Rwanda? Is it wise, is it doable, and if we did would you or others be able to help us?We would recommend adopting a child from Rwanda. Yes it is wise and very doable. As there are no agencies working in Rwanda you will need someone here that is trustworthy to assist you through the process. There is some leg work that has to be done here in order to keep the process moving in the right direction. It is relatively simple but someone needs to stay on top of it and keep the paperwork flowing from place to place.





To get the process started you will need to file form I-600. You can get the form and instructions off the Internet. You will also have to have a home study. The home study must be prepared by an entity licensed/authorized under law of the State of the orphan’s proposed residence in the US. Contact your State Child Services Division for a list of approved people and/or organizations to conduct a home study.



There are other documents that need to be submitted in Rwanda in addition to the home study.



We hope this answers your questions.