[nicky2]

Hi all, my husband and I are still trying to decide where to adopt from. We were thinking Asia because the health of the Children are very good. However, my husband and I can't stop thinking how nice it would be to have the child look like us. My husband is Italian and we know that a Columbian baby would look a lot like him. We have also heard that you could get your child as young as 6 months old...which is great. The only thing we are alittle unsure of is the health of the childern from Columbia. We are worried about the drugs that Columbia is very well known for. Could anyone please provide me with there experince with their adoption from Columbia. Maybe you could let me know what the health was of your child and may what you may have seen while you were there as far of the overall health of the children. Also I know that they have travel advisories for Columbia. Did anyone feel frightened there.

I know I'm asking a lot of information. I'm just confused as to where I can get a child who looks some what like us and is healthy and under the age of one.......I think Columbia maybe the place!!!

[hdowns]

Although we are still on the waiting list and have not returned home with our child, we had the same concerns when deciding on Colombia.

My husband was concerned about the drug culture, until we researched it a bit and found the drugs are mostly exported and not used in the country any more than they are in cities here.

Also, ALL people who have reported to me about their time in Colombia reported feeling as safe as in any US city and well taken care of by the adoption facilitators. In fact, people I know who have traveled to Colombia talk about how amazingly nice and hospitable the people are more than anything else about the country. We live in San Francisco, so we are comfortable with urban risks and I am actually really looking forward to my 3-6 weeks being exposed to my child's culture and practicing the Spanish I am learning.

I imagine people on this forum will tell you something similar.

Good luck,
Heather

[Bogota Girl]

I was in Colombia (spelled Colombia, not Columbia), a year ago for adoption. I did not adopt a baby, but was there with many American families and other families from around the world that adopted infants.

I will tell you that we were all very impressed with the care the babies receive and the health of the babies. When there was a questionable health issue, that information was disclosed and parents had the opportunity to not accept the referral. I know that there are many adoption houses in Colombia, and I became particularly familiar with two of them while there because the majority of the babies were from them; Los Pisingos and Ayudame. There were also babies from CRAN and FANA.

The babies from Los Pisingos and Ayudame receive incredible care and attention. I was told that the babies at Ayudame have one caregiver for every two children. They are always held for their feedings and even have "exercise" time daily where they caregivers exercise them by giving them tummy time, moving their legs in a bicycle-like motion and talk to them, etc. This was also the case with those from Los Pisingos. All of the babies were beautiful, healthy, very well adjusted babies; not fussy, not easily aggitated. I was very impressed.

Los Pisingos works closely with a birthmother's home. Women live their during their pregnancy and are cared for. It is privilege to be in the birthmother's home and drug use or neglect to care for yourself during your pregnancy could cause you to be expelled from the home.

With respect to the age of the babies, there was only one (out of the 20+) that I spent time with that was six months old. All of the others were 3-4 months old, and one was two. The law provides the birthmother two months after the birth of her baby to change her decision, so until that time they are not relinquished.

When we traveled to Colombia (in September of 2003), there were also travel warnings out. I spoke with my agency about them and questioned safety. I was told, prior to travel, that there are always travel warnings posted, but travel is very safe, and they wouldn't permit us to travel if there was a concern.

I never felt unsafe while in the country. We stayed at a small hotel in Colombia that was located in close proximity to our representative. She generally houses all her clients there for ease. This hotel works 100% with adoptive families and will acquire drivers and guides for you, all of whom have worked with them for years as well, some of whom speak English. They took our care and our safety very seriously. We traveled into downtown (old town) Bogota on one occasion. Our guide was very close to us at all times; in fact, he would not let us out of his sight. We traveled a great number of places within Bogota and felt very comfortable doing so.

We did not travel outside of Bogota, but a number of families at the residence did. They traveled to Cartagena, San Andreas Island and Santa Marta. All had a great time and were comfortable traveling with little concern about safety. We were told that San Andreas Island was a very very safe place to be.

The only thing were told was not to go out after dark unless in the company of your representative or a local. But we were also told that even the locals don't go out after dark. Daylight is 6:00 am to 6:00 pm in Colombia, in general, and we traveled and toured during the day and spent the evenings in the residence. There was a great community of people there and we would gather for TV parties, cards, etc.

Hope this has answered some of your questions, and helps you with your decision. Best wishes to you.

[StacieGates]

We just received our referral for our two daughters (age 10 & 7) & will be traveling in January. We're SO excited!

I wouldn't be concerned about safety. Basically, what we've been told, is that you use "big city common sense"...don't go meandering the countryside by yourself, don't go out alone at night, etc... and you'll be fine. A representative from our agency take the adoptive parents to all their appointments and all, so there's no need for us to go places unescorted. She will avoid any areas that are less safe, too.

The health of the children shouldn't be a concern either. There are special needs children available for adoption if you're open to that. I've not heard anything about prenatal drug exposure being even suspected in any children coming from Colombia. I can't imagine that it *never* happens, but I think that most of the moms that surrender their children for adoption are too poor to cover even the basics, let alone any drug habit.

Do your research & follow your heart to figure out where God has your children waiting for you!

God bless,
Stacie

[Newme]

I have just returned after adopting my second child from Colombia.

The first, my son (currently 3), was born at 32 weeks. We adopted him at 5 months old. He is healthy as a HORSE. He is rarely sick, is very smart, active and wonderful. He is very handsome too!

Our new baby, a little girl, was handed to us at 10 weeks old. She is also VERY healthy. And beautiful and we feel extremely blessed. She is now 3 months old and is the missing piece of our hearts we've been searching for.

Colombia is an AMAZING country loaded with amazing people. We feel part Colombian now that our children are home with us. They love their children, and the government and orphanages have the best interests of the children at heart, not their pocketbooks.

We feel that Colombia is definitely the best international country to adopt from ....hands down. There is just one negative to adopting from Colombia...the wait. It can be two years. So, do keep that in mind if you're in a hurry.

Good luck with your decision!