[tjmscd]

WE ARE TRYING TO FIND OUT IF ANYONE ELSE IS IN THE PROCESS OF ADOPTING FROM ETHIOPIA. WE WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO OTHERS. WE ARE FINISHING HOMESTUDY AND PAPER WORK IS OFF. WE HAVE THREE GIRLS 10. 8 AND 7. THANKS

[babyblues2]

We are currently in the process of our homestudy and also have chosen Ethiopia as one of our program (we picked 3). I would love to stay in touch with you and talk as we go through this. What agency are you using?

[tjmscd]

GOOD MORNING-

WE ARE USING A LOCAL AGENCY FOR OUR HOMESTUDY, International Adoption Services. For our actual adoption we are using AAI- Adoption Advocates International.
We are very excited and are also hoping to find others on this journey. We are from, Minnesota,USA.

[berchtolde]

Hi !

Add me to the club! We are adopting from Ethiopia too. We are also using Adoption Advocates International. We have a biological daughter who is 6 and we are adopting a 6 year old. We are from NW Illinois.

I would very much be interested in keeping in contact.

Please feel free to email to my private account to let me know how things are going.

ericaberchtold@hotmail.com

[Dcj]

Hello, it seems that not alot of people are very interested in adopting from Africa. My husband and I have been discussing adopting from Ethiopia, and were thinking of using AAI also.
I was wondering what concerns some of you had when you decided to adopt from africa. Did the HIV/AIDS epidemic scare you? Did you feel that the lab test in africa were well enough to put your mind at ease? I know this may be silly to some of you, but I am a little worried. I suppose it is because we are dealing with another country, and I have heard that other countries ways of doing things can be corupt compared to how we do things in the U.S. I would love any advice or feelings on how they dealt with their worries. And what may have put your mind at ease.
Anyone that did use AAI I would love to hear your experience and how you felt about the people you worked with. And mabe what made you decide to use them. Also, did anyone to a check on them? How did you do it? Did you call their state? Sorry, for all the questions. I really want to make sure we use a good reputable agency and were not just taken for a ride. But if you would like to inform me on anything, please, just PM me. I would love to hear what you have to say. -Danielle

[cavcmc]

I am starting the adoption process and giving serious consideration to adopting from Ethiopia. I have not yet selected a country and as I will be a single parent one thing that concerns me about the Ethiopian programs are that there seems to be little "community support" post-adoption. This would be in comparrision to the overwhelming number of support groups for Chinese adoptions.

I'd love to hear feedback from others who have adopted in Ethiopia as well as any answers to the concerns posted by the previous member. I am planning on using Wide Horizons.

Thanks
Catherine

[Colorbind love]

Well, I answered it off list, but I'll say the same thing here for those reading about it.

Ethiopia has a very careful system for HIV/AIDS detection set up. All children are referred for American adoption via the government. They are first taken to a holding center where all children are tested for HIV/AIDS. Those who test negative are then taken to the centers run by the 4 approved American agencies and adoptive families are found for them. Those who test positive are taken to hospice homes and cared for until they die. Without the powerful drugs available in the West, they die very young, sadly.

And, while you can adopt a child with AIDS, you are not going to do so without knowing about it in the Ethiopian programs. I've never heard of a child coming to the US showing up with AIDS after being adopted from Ethiopia. They really do take great care in testing the children. And, its nots a corrupt system regarding AIDS testing there.

[anmatwall]

this week to AAI to adopt from Ethiopia. We live in WA. It was a long time deciding where to adopt from, but we felt that Ethiopia had the most need. As for us, we weren't too concerned about HIV, the paperwork we got from AAI says all the children are tested at 2 different times.

We have 3 boys and want to adopt a girl. My only concern at this point is that I have no idea what a girl aged 7-9 is interested in!! Do they like dolls still? Will she adjust to our family easily? It's going to be a learning experience!!

I know we are just in the beginning of the process, but I certainly wouldn't mind talking to others...feel free to PM me.

Good luck to all!!!!!

Andrea

[berchtolde]

Congrats Andrea for mailing your application in!

My husband John and I are using AAI for our adoption also. (We pick up our daughter on July 20th - home again July 29th!) Make sure you ask AAI right away about the yahoo webgroup they have called AAIEthiopia that is available to families who have/are adopted through AAI. When it comes to online support for Ethiopian adoptions, it has been a lifesaver for me!

I never had any clue that during adoption and post adoption support would be so important, but there is such a wealth of information out.

Other places for support includes EthiopiaAdopt and AdoptAfrica from the yahoo groups. They are not agency specific and also have lots of good information.

Best of Luck!

[Dcj]

I have been reading your post but have not replied yet. My husband and I are adopting from Ethiopia using AAI, as well. We have been assigned a child and will be signing papers to make it official. Our dossier has been sent off and now we have to be patient and wait. We are very excited about meeting our child!
I have been wanting to get on the group for AAI applicants and keep forgetting, although I have met great people through a yahoo group for people adopting from Africa.
I was wondering, after your dossier was sent off to Ethiopia how long was it before you actualy had a date set for your child to come home to you?
I pray for the best for us all in our adoptions, and patience!
-Dani

[Sarah's Pippin]

We live in Washington State, too, on Bainbridge Island. Adopting a girl from Ethiopia is what I dream of, but everyone warns me about raising an African child in our predominantly white area. We already have two birth kids, and plan to adopt only one. Any advice?
Also, I see that many people are interested in AAI, but we have heard good things about Children's Home Society. What do you think?
~Sarah

[kimmybee]

Hi Sara,
Looks like we are the most current posters on this thread. Everyone elses is like from a year ago. I think. Anyway we are adopting from Ethiopia we start our home study tom. I'm very excited. I have a bio boy 3 and bio girl almost 2 I want to adopt from china next but dh might just want to stop at 3 children. We'll see. I used to live in WA, Bellvue anyway love bainbridge island had some friends out there. Keep me updated you can PM me if you want. I'm only started but am researching and learning every day. '

God bless our babies so far away.

Kim

[buccasmom]

Hi,

My husband and I are getting ready to adopt again - we have 3 biological girls (9, 6 and 4) and two adopted boys (2 and 19 months). The boys are both African American and were domestic adoptions. We are now considering adopting and child or children from Africa. I am just now trying to gather some info.

Emily

[DaniWestRN]

Hi ladies!
DH and I are in the process of adoption from Ethiopia using CHSFS. We just sent in our dossier this week. We hope to get a referal in Sept and travel in Nov. If you have any questions PM me.
Kim, I also hope to adopt from China next. :-)
Dani

[teranga]

Hi All!
We adopted from Ethiopia recently--we went to Addis in February of this year to bring our little boy home. We also have 2 bio girls at home. We used AAI. I'm happy to answer any questions if people have any for someone who has been through the process recently.

BTW, there is a very large Ethiopian adoption population in WA state...you can get info. from AAI, but they place MANY kids in WA (we're not in WA, but I hear about the kids going to their new homes in WA all the time!!).

Take Care,
Teranga