[Elena Thomson]

soppies, I would be very interested to learn how you were able to manage the second adoption when you were in the Middle East. Was it necessary for you to do the home study through the authorities in the country in which you were residing or were you able to do everything through South Africa? My husband and I reside outside of South Africa and are trying to find out if we can manage the adoption completely through the South African anuthorities. Thank you. Elena

[Bunnyhop]

Hi My husband and I are just finishing up our homestudy and I am trying to figure out how to adopt from SA. It is not very common here in Canada. Does anyone have any contact information that they would care to share with us? What kind of time frame is involved? Thankx Bunny

[soppies]

Firstly, both my husband and I are South Africans and are only temporarily out of the country. Our first child is a white child (we are both whites). The second child is a mixed race baby. There are literally no white babies available for adoption in SA anymore and if there are, they are strictly for South Africans. The only babies that a foreigner can adopt is a black baby. There are literally thousands of them available. Secondly, it is better to do all homestudies, etc through and agency or social worker close to your home otherwise you will have to incur all costs to get a social worker from the agency in SA to fly over to wherever you are. The best way is probably the way most international adoptions are done, and that is to do all paperwork in your home country and then let the social workers do referalls for you. Hope this all helps.

[MkMw]

Hi, Soppies is right - there are very few direct placement adoption - the social worker we worked with in Durban (a large port city for those unfamiliar with it - I had never heard of it!) said there were only about 10 independent adoptions done a year. She had couples who had been waiting for over 2 years, I'm sure that they were not happy with the idea of an American couple adopting twins (who are white), but as the SW says Birthmothers have (and should keep) the right to choose who raises their children.

I found that the S.A. adoption laws and U.S. (in Virginia anyway) were very very similar. Our social worker there was able to use our homestudy as written with no changes. I did all the INS/VISA myself, she handled the court appearances etc, I also registered the adoption in S.A., and had the "pleasure" of visiting 4 different home affairs offices.

I know most of the children adopted are from orphanages, there is a 60 day period after the Birthparents sign to change their mind with no recourse, so many orphanages do not place children until that 60 days is up, we brought the boys home at 16 days, so it was 76 days total before they were legally able to be adopted.

Having done an independent international adoption (which I wouldn't trade for ANYTHING), it is probably not something that will ever be common. I was in South Africa for 4 months and 1 week - not exactly "normal" travel time (the last 2 months had to do with their Birthfather). BUT on the plus side I got to see alot of the country and bring home lots of pictures of the boys in the country they were born in. I also have their abridged OBC's - I was not allowed to get the unabridged, and their unabridged ABC's are handwritten....it was a very different experience!

michelle

[sjffy]

We are an english family that adopted south african little boy while we were living over there,Jake was the first south african to be adopted by a non south african family. He came to us as a foster child and was going to go to a childrens home so we asked to adopt him .We were told it was not legal so we to the government to constitutional court. And won and changed the law !!
Jake will be 6 in august and of course is adorable .

[KarynB]

Hello everyone, we are a Canadian family who has a four year old boy we recently adopted from SA, he is from Cato Ridge (near Durban) and is really wonderful. I would love to talk to anyone else who has adopted from there, or anyone looking for advice/support. Also, he is quickly losing his Native language (Zulu), is there anyone out there near Vancouver who would be willing to coach us? Thanks!

[MkMw]

Hi Karyn!

Our sons were born in Durban - it is beautiful there isn't it? I used to go up the Rob Roy (by Valley of the Thousand Hills) and just sit with the boys while they napped.

The Zulu language is pretty amazing - the Domestic at the B&B we stayed at could quiet the boys down in about 2 seconds singing to them - we never could get that "clicking" noise down though.

I hope you can find someone who speaks it near you!

Michelle

[KarynB]

Hi Michelle, great to hear from you! It is apretty amazing language, we learned a fair bit of it while we were there (we worked at the orphanage for 4 months) but now it's going away, and our son won't speak it with us anyways. How old are your boys? And yes, Durban is really beautiful, the Valley is where we worked and it is pretty incredible! Can't wait to visit someday.

[nicoleanders]

Hi, my husband and I just returned with our son from Durban. It was wonderful there. We can not wait to go back! I also would love to know more about the Zulu culture. My husband and i only had the chance to be there for about 2.5 weeks, so your knowledge would be of great help.
Our little boy heard some Zulu in his foster home, but not much. If you have any words that you could share that woudl be great! We want to share these with our son.
Keep in touch!
nicole

[KarynB]

Hi Nicole, great to hear from you! How old is your son? Is he Zulu? We were lucky enough to learn a bit of our sons culture while we were there (for example - it is customary for children to receive things (food, gifts) with both hands, otherwise it is seen as quite rude. Maybe you already know these words, but here are a few that we use often:
lala kahle (good night)
hamba kahle (go well)
sala kahle (stay well)
nigyabonga (I thank you)
Siyabonga (We thank you )
Kunjani? (How are you?)
Sapila (We are fine)
yebo (yes)
ibo (no)
umama/ubaba (mother/father)

Where did you stay in Durban? Durban is a great city, although we also really enjoyed Port Elizabeth (less cockroaches!). Anyways, take care!
Karyn

[Bunnyhop]

Hi Karyn

great to hear that there are other people in BC who have completed a SA adoption. There are two other families in BC who have adopted, a third family in the process and we are hoping to adopt. The adoption agency has some feelers out for a child but have not had success yet.
Ian

[nicoleanders]

Karyn- Thank you so much for sending those words. Now that i see them again, I do recognize them.
Owen just turned 10 months old. He is Zulu. They think that he may be mixed, but are not sure. He was abandoned. How old is your son?
We stayed at the Holiday Inn north beach. We love Durban.
How far away is Port Elizabeth from Durban?

[KarynB]

Hello everyone, sorry for the slow reply, I had trouble linking back to this site. We actually completed our adoption in Ontario (an even greater feat than in BC!) with an agency that works throughout Canada/US called Mission of Tears. We were one of the first in Ontario to complete a SA adoption, but I believe they are now licensed to do others. We had volunteerd at an orphanage in SA, and met him there, then came back to Canada to finish the adoption. Our son is 4 years old now, and we are coming up on our one year Anniversary as a family. He is a really great little guy, very happy and loving, but very stubborn at the same time. His first language is Zulu, but also learned English from a young age which made things easier for us, although I still get surprised sometimes when I refer to something thinking it is "common knowledge", like saying "hold you horses" and he looks at me as if I'm insane! He also is still figuring out "the family unit", like how is his daddy my husband, and why isn't his sister my sister, too, it's very confusing for him. Lots of challenges, but lots of fun, too!
Hope everyone is well out there, I'd love to hear more about all of your experiences, etc. Take care

[Lyn1011]

Hi there. I sort of stumbled on this site while searching for adoption info and have read all the posts re adoption is SA. It has been so interesting to read. I am a south african, living in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and I am looking at an international adoption. I am looking for a white baby - sounds terrible to say this - but i have taken all into consideration. I would prefer to adopt locally but I think I have a snowballs chance. I have been in contact with an international adoption agency in Johannesburg but the latest email from them said that the South African government were "playing silly buggers" about adopting foreign babies. Does anyone know what this is about. Also, as there are so many ex south africans posting on this site, does anyone know of any angencies that organise foreign adoptions? I would be most grateful for any info. I have done the infertility thing in a big way and as my doc said, I have to decide "how long a piece of string is". So I am looking to adopt. The stress of fertility treatments is something only those who have experienced could understand!

Thanks
Lynne

[KarynB]

I would imagine the government has limited international adoptions out of SA due to the huge need within the country. It is usually only countries that have no babies for adoption locally that allow for international placements, as in the long run it is seen as more desirable for the child to be within his/her own country/culture.