[pjlanghals]

Hi!

Welcome to the board!! I have heard of families being successful with independent adoption from Kaz, but it can be quite a lengthy and difficult process. Do lots of research before you attempt this. Check out the US Embassy website in Almaty. I know you are French, but this website details the adoption process in Kaz. It will be a good starting point for you.

Good luck and Best wishes!!
Pat

[ravie]

Originally posted by pjlanghals
Hi!

Welcome to the board!! I have heard of families being successful with independent adoption from Kaz, but it can be quite a lengthy and difficult process. Do lots of research before you attempt this. Check out the US Embassy website in Almaty. I know you are French, but this website details the adoption process in Kaz. It will be a good starting point for you.

Good luck and Best wishes!!
Pat

Hi Pat

Thank you so much for anserwering.
I'm worried about the radioactivity in Kazak especially in Almaty.
What do you think about that.

Peggy

[pjlanghals]

Its my understanding that most of the nuclear testing that occurred in Kaz happened in the northern regions. I know a family that adopted from Semey (northern region) and she is fine. Our children were adopted from Almaty and they are very healthy.

If at all possible, I would try to consult with an international adoption specialist while you are in Kaz. They know much more than I do about the possibility of radioactivity in children.

Good luck!
Pat

[lizbourmatnov]

Pat & Need Sleep Mommy:
Hi,
I am new to this site and I just wanted to tell you and others our story about our adoption experience. We adopted from Kazakhstan and traveled in December 2003. We wanted one infant, but applied for two incase we connected with another. When we arrived, we were driven directly to the orphanage, (which we did not know was going to happen) and were told to select which children we wanted. After 22 hours of traveling, we should not have made any decisions about anything, but hindsight is always 20 20 and our moderator had told us we had to choose that day to get the process rolling. So we selected a 6 month old girl and a 3 year old girl. After about 4 or 5 days of visiting, my husband had told me of his connection problems with the older girl, and I had decided if we both were not 100% comfortable with the child we should not proceed. When we told our coordinator this, she insisted that we continue to visit, telling us it would be a "gift" to the child sisnce she never got any individual attention. So we proceeded with visits to this girl thinking we were doing the right thing.
What we did not know is that our coordinator never mentioned this to the orphanage workers. So when it came to the last day to pick up our infant daughter, they had very nasty things to say to us, and we found out that they had been telling this child that we were to be her new mother and father. This still breaks my heart to think that she probably wonders what happened to her mother and father, and why she was left behind for the second time in her life.
While many of our friends and family members do not know if this, I could only imagine what they would think of us had they heard we did this to a child. I guess my point is that there are circumstances to every situation, and to do your best to be understanding of someones situatiuon. Plus it is better that this child have a chance to be adopted by a family who truly wants to be their parent.
PS - We are doing wonderful with our daughter who is about to turn 1 this month. We hope to complete another adoption again next spring.
Liz

[pjlanghals]

Hi Liz!


What a sad story. You should never have been placed in that position. Families come and go all the time. The children know this. Its unfortunate for this child that she was told you were her new parents. Its so frustating when you hear of situations like this - when children are treated as commodities and not children.

I'm so happy to hear you are doing so well with your daughter.

Best wishes,
Pat

[julienj]

Hi Pat

I'm new to the forum. My name is Julie and I live in NJ. My husband and I are hoping to adopt from Kazakhstan because of the great care the children seem to receive. We haven't selected an agency yet.

My husband and I have some health issues--none of which we believe will keep us from raising children. We both are significantly overweight. My husband has high blood pressure (controlled with medication) and I have a thyroid disorder (controlled with medication) and a mild case of hep C (from a surgery in the late 1970s). Do you know if this will be a problem in adopting from Kazakhstan?

Thanks
Julie

[pjlanghals]

Hi Julie!

Welcome to this board! I wish I could be more of help with your question. I am not aware of any specific health concerns that would limit you from adopting; however, that doesn't mean they do not exist. I would contact several agencies that you are interested in and ask them these questions. My "gut" answer is that you would be fine adopting from Kaz as long as your health issues would not prevent you from parenting.

Good luck with your adoption and best wishes!!
Pat

[julienj]

Thanks Pat

Julie

[mom of 1 son]

Hi

I am a single women in my mid-twenties. Does anyone know of anyone in a similiar situation successfully adopting from Kaz? I know that legally I am more than qualified, but i'm worried that after bonding with a child, I'll get to court and be denied.

Kay

[lashicks]

I am very interested in Kazakhstan. My sister adopted twice from a Samara orphanage and discourages me from K because of the long stay required (our biological children would be 2.5 and 4 years old by then - worried about leaving them too long). She also says it's extremely expensive to adopt 2 children at once. We would love another boy and girl, hopefully under two years of age by the time we bring them home. Any suggestions, those of you who have been there? Also, anyone heard of "pilot" programs for the northern region of Kazakhstan?

[pjlanghals]

We adopted two children in Jan 2001 from Almaty (southern Kaz). Our son was 9 m old at the time and our daughter was 23 m old. We also had a 3.5 yr old at home, so I completely understand how hard it is to leave your other children behind.

Many agencies will offer reductions in cost if you adopt two children at one. Ours did. Check out lots of agencies and ask tons of questions. Don't be too caught up in the specific region you think you want to travel to. Be open minded.

Also, some agencies will allow you to bring other children along when you travel. If you are really concerned about leaving your other children at home, ask your agency about this as well.

Almaty was a wonderful city to adopt from. I wouldn't hesistate at all to bring along younger children if you knew that's where you were adopting from.

Best wishes,
Pat

[SusanE]

World Partners works in several regions in the northern part of Kaz. We actually flew into Samara and then drove across the border into Kaz when we adopted in 2000.

Pat made a very good point though of not limiting yourself to a specific region. Most agencies work in several regions and when you limit yourself, you could extend your wait time.

There are pros and cons to taking your children and I would strongly recommend you consider taking another adult along as well because many of the Baby House directors will not allow the children in for the daily visitations for fear of spreading illnesses to the children in the Baby House.

I hope that helps! I think the benefits of Kazakhstan outweighs the inconveniences of the extended trip length.

Good luck to you!

Susan

[papito]

hi, can anyone let me know about the average age for bringing home an infant or the minimum age? and how does one know about the area of nuc testing?

thanks, jill

Our agency is telling us that we can adopt a child 3-4 mos. old from Kaz. Is this true?

[PattyR]

It is absolutely not possible to do an international adoption from Kaz of a 3-4 month old infant. All children available for adoption in Kaz must be on a registry for at least 5 months before they can be available for international adoption. The youngest age child it is possible to adopt is 6 months and most children are at least 8 months old before they come home. Kaz is a wonderful country to adopt from, but please do your research on agencies carefully. It is very important to have an agency with lots of experience in Kaz adoptions.

In regards to the areas of Kaz where there has been nuclear testing, I believe this is mostly in the Semey region. It is my understanding that there really isn't a lot of risk to the children. The risk comes more from long term exposure over several years. Of course, I would certainly encourage you to do more research. I would recommend you join some of the yahoo groups that are for parents who have adopted or are adopting from Kaz. I know some of the people on those groups have adopted from this region and could probably give you lots more information.

Patty