Ethiopia
- Overview
- Adoption Process
- Children Available
- Parent Requirements
- Travel Process
- Waiting Children
- Country Facts
Now Accepting Applications for Special Needs or Older Children
Our Ethiopia Adoption Program
Children’s House has been directly licensed by the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Ethiopia to conduct international adoptions as well as support our humanitarian aid projects since 2006.
The Thomas Center
The Thomas Center is our own foster care center located in Addis Ababa. Having your child live there, once the court approves, allows us to give the best care possible. We are able to send our adoptive families bi-weekly updates and monthly photos of their referred children up until the time they are ready to travel home.
Humanitarian Efforts in Ethiopia
Children’s House International sponsors the Monastery of Debre Alama Asira Metria, Saint Mary Andinet Gedam, for One Hundred (100) Orphans: A Multi-purpose Project for Orphan Children at Risk, rendering financial support towards the psychosocial and economic rehabilitation of orphans who are abandoned in the town of Atsbi, and assisting them to be responsible citizens.
Children’s House International sponsors the Debre Alama Asira, Saint Mary Monastery Irrigation Project: A Multi-purpose Project for Monks & Farmers at Risk, rendering financial support for the implementation of the irrigation system and animal husbandry for monks and neighboring farmers who are affected by drought in the eastern part of Tigray State in order to create sustainability and contribute in the national efforts to reduce the disaster of drought in parts of Ethiopia.
Children’s House is also undertaking to support 150 families in the Bole area of Addis Ababa. In this impoverished area, we are helping to provide food, clothing and educational materials so that these families can stay together. These children and families do not have access to even the basic necessities like clean drinking water, food and clothing. We are working hard to change that, and break the cycle of extreme poverty.
Children’s House International is committed to sponsoring these programs. The funds to support these programs come from generous donations, fundraisers, and adoption fees.
Adoption Forms and Fees
For more information including our application, agency retainer agreement and financial agreements and statistical information on the number of adoption placements per year for the prior 3 calendar years, the number of placements that remain intact, the number of families who apply to adopt each year, and the number of waiting children eligible for adoption, click here.
NEWS
- April 2, 2013 –
Notice: Health Concerns in Ethiopia
On March 14, 2013, U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa released an important message for U.S. citizens via email to U.S. adoption service providers and a notice on the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa website about a recent increase in suspected meningitis cases in Ethiopia. The suspected cases are primarily in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), but the area of concern extends north to include tourist areas around Hawassa and Lake Langano. The Department of State shares the full text below in order to ensure wide distribution among the adoption community. As always, we recommend that adoptive parents and other U.S. travelers check Travel.State.gov prior to traveling to Ethiopia or any other country for the latest travel information from the Department of State.
Many adopted children come from SNNPR, and adoptive parents are encouraged to work with their adoption service providers (ASPs) to ensure that children who come from affected areas are properly evaluated by a medical professional, and that treatment or vaccination be given if required. Given that children from all over Ethiopia live together in care centers in Addis Ababa, all adoptive parents should be aware that the risk of contracting meningitis is not necessarily limited to children who come from the affected region. The Embassy’s Consular Section can provide a list of pediatricians working in Addis Ababa, but most ASPs have an existing network of health care providers, and general inquiries about your child’s health situation are best directed to your ASP.
On a related note, many adopted children face significant health challenges in Ethiopia that require continuing treatment after immigration to the United States. While the Embassy’s panel physician evaluates children for their fitness to travel and the likelihood of them transmitting a communicable disease, such as tuberculosis, it is primarily the responsibility of the ASP and the orphanage to ensure proper medical treatment from the time a child enters institutional care until the day he/she travels to the United States. Adoptive parents should expect that a child’s medical file will travel with him/her from a rural clinic in the village where they were born, to the pediatrician’s office in Addis Ababa, and then to be made available for use by the child’s new physician in the United States. If such information is not made available as a matter of course, adoptive parents are encouraged to request it from their ASPs.
Embassy Addis Ababa Notice: Meningitis According to the World Health Organization, Ethiopia is currently at the peak of the meningitis transmission season, which extends through March and April up to the beginning of May. Suspected cases of meningitis were reported in Southern Nation, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) and Oromia Region. So far this year cases were recorded in close to 60 woredas (local municipalities) across 14 zones of SNNPR and Oromia, with upsurges of cases in 16 woredas of SNNPR and Oromia. Woredas reporting increased cases of meningitis include Arbaminch Zuria, Halaba, Hawassa town, Dale, Shebedino, Gorche, and Wonsho in SNNPR, and Arsi Negele, Shalla, Shashemene Town, Shashemene Rural, Dodolla, Siraro, Wondo, and Gedeb Assassa in Oromia Region.
In light of these findings, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa recommends that U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Ethiopia avoid travel to these areas unless they have been vaccinated against meningitis within the past three years. If you were vaccinated recently, do not travel to these affected areas for at least 14 days after receiving the vaccination. (Meningitis vaccinations do not take effect for 14 days.) You can find detailed information on vaccinations and other health precautions on the CDC website. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organization (WHO) website. The WHO website also contains additional health information for travelers, including detailed country-specific health information.
If you are going to live in or travel to Ethiopia, please take the time to tell us about your trip by enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). If you enroll, we can keep you up to date with important safety and security announcements. It will also help your friends and family get in touch with you in an emergency. You should remember to keep all of your information in STEP up to date. It is important during enrollment or updating of information to include your current phone number and current email address where you can be reached in case of an emergency.
Please review the other alerts and notices posted by the U.S. Department of State HERE
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Ethiopia’s Adoption Process
It is estimated that by 2010, Africa had 42 million orphans. Ethiopia has the highest percentage of orphans in Africa. Children’s House works with several orphanages in different regions of Ethiopia to better serve children and families.
Married couples and single women may apply to adopt from Ethiopia. Upon receipt of your application, your case manager will assign a social worker to conduct your home study. If you live in a state other than Washington, Utah or Florida, you will be sent a list of home study agencies with whom we have a professional agreement to select from. During your home study process, you will complete the required adoption education courses, file for USCIS approval and compile your dossier. Once you have received USCIS approval, your dossier will be authenticated and forwarded to our Country Representative in Ethiopia.
Children’s House refers a child to you. The referral information will include photos, developmental and medical information, test results (HIV, Hepatitis B and other blood test results), along with social background that explains why the child is being placed for adoption. Families are allowed enough time to have the information reviewed by their pediatrician and international adoption health specialist. Additional information can be requested if the professionals need clarification.Our families usually must wait approximately 9 – 12 months for a healthy toddler and 12 – 18 months for the referral of a healthy infant. The wait for girls is longer than for boys. The wait time for older children, children with special needs and sibilng groups can be significantly less.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) approves the adoption and sends an official approval letter to the Court.
Court Appearance
Ethiopia now requires that all adoptive families appear in court. After the court process is completed, families return to the U.S. Our Ethiopian staff obtains your child’s birth certificate and Ethiopian passport, submits all documents to the Embassy and brings your child to the required Embassy medical exam. It will be approximately 2 months before you return to Ethiopia for your Embassy Appointment to bring your child home.
When the time comes, you will travel back to Ethiopia to bring your child home. During this trip, our staff will take you to the US Embassy where you will obtain your child’s visa to enter the United States. In some cases a family may have the opportunity to meet with their child’s biological family. Cultural activities and sightseeing are planned during this second visit.
Once you are back home, you will complete the required post placement reports and finalize your adoption in your State of residence.
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Children Available
Poverty, disease and war have left a large number of children without parents. The one thing I want adoptive families to know about Ethiopian children is that even though they have been through so much in their lives, they remain joyful, strong and resilient. The availability of healthy infants has declined greatly in the last few years. Ethiopia now focuses more on the adoption of sibling groups, older and special needs children. While we continue to place healthy infants and toddlers, your wait time for a referral is unpredictable. There remains a huge need for families for older and special needs children, along with sibling groups.
Parents will receive a complete child study which includes all medical information, legal documentation and proof of orphan status, photos and a video. Children that have been accepted by a family are transferred into our foster care at The Thomas Center. The Thomas Center is Children’s House’s own foster care center and having your child live there during the adoption process allows us to give the best care possible. We are able to send our adoptive families photos and updates of their children many times during the adoption process. I travel to Ethiopia often to oversee the adoption and humanitarian aid programs.
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Adoptive Parent Requirements
While your adoption journey may begin today, adoptive parents should understand that adoption is a lifelong commitment. A successful homestudy plays a vital role in helping on your preparation to become adoptive parents. Our trained and caring professionals respect your confidentiality as we work together to educate and create an accurate portrait of you as future adoptive parents. The home study is the first step toward parenthood.Approved Home Study
An approved home study, preferably completed by a COA Hague accredited social worker, will ensure that all of the Ethiopian requirements for families are met during the home study process. The home study begins with adoptive parent education and a thorough evaluation of your family that will include several background clearances, medical evaluations and financial stability. Your home study is the foundation on which USCIS and in country approvals for international adoption are based. They enable adoptive parents to learn, reflect, and prepare for parenting. It involves opening your hearts, minds, and home to a social worker through a series of meetings and gives you the opportunity to ask all the questions you may have as well.USCIS Immigration Approval
USCIS immigration approval is required for all international adoptions (this includes an FBI fingerprint results). This approval allows your newly adopted child to receive a VISA from the US Embassy, enter the US, and become a citizen.Couples married for at least three years and unmarried women are eligible to adopt from Ethiopia. You must be at least 25 and not more than 45 years older than the child you adopt. Older parents are considered for school-aged children on a case-by-case basis. CHI has no restrictions as to religion.
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Travel Process
- Ethiopia requires families make two trips. Families must be present at the court hearing. You will spend a few days visiting your child, appear in court and then return back to the USA. The positive thing about this new requirement is that if both parents travel for the court hearing (highly recommended), your child will become an automatic US Citizen as soon as he/she enters the USA. In cases of hardship, one parent can travel with a Power of Attorney from the non-traveling spouse. In this case, you must readopt your child in your state of residence when he/she comes home. It will be approximately 2 months in-between your trips to Ethiopia, but this time period can and does change often. Your case manager will keep you up-to-date on changes.
- On the second trip, when you travel back to Ethiopia to bring your child home, one or both parents can make this trip. Your stay in Addis Ababa will be four days and five nights. We suggest direct flights for this second trip and we will help you plan your travel.
- Most people in Ethiopia speak English and the hotels are beautiful, the food is great, and you will have a wonderful time.
Escort Option
We strongly urge you to travel to bring your child(ren) home from Ethiopia. However, since Ethiopia has instituted the new policy where you must appear in court, you may choose to have your child(ren) escorted home when they are ready to travel. This will add approximately one – two months to your adoption process.For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Children Waiting for Families in Ethiopia
Waiting… waiting… waiting… why are these children without families? They are available for international adoption for many reasons. This is most often due to their birth families inability to parent based on poverty. Poverty worldwide creates the need for international adoption, but it is not the only reason.
Education is another common factor. In many countries, birth control is not widely offered nor is it taught in the family, community or in school. Birth mothers also can lack education on how to parent a child or have the capability to earn a living wage to support the child. So education can play a large part in children becoming available for international adoption. In some situations, when a birth mother does become pregnant she may be shunned by both her family and her community. Many times this leads to desperate situations that force a birth parent to either abandon or relinquish their child.
Sadly, there are other factors that create orphans, war, worldwide famine, drought, and in some countries the AIDS epidemic have also created a need for adoptive parents.
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
Now Accepting New Applications
Country Facts
Is the mystical kingdom of the Queen of Sheba calling you?
Ethiopia and Abyssinia are mentioned numerous times in the Bible, Qur’an and Hadith. It’s culture and traditions date back over 3,000 years. The skeleton of Lucy, a woman that lived 3.2 million years ago, was found in a remote corner of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, with its highest point being 4,533 m (14,868 ft.). You will see beautiful contrasting scenery with lush green plains and arid mountains. Ancient architectural marvels remain such as the Church of St. George, which is referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World.
It is widely believed that coffee originated in Ethiopia, and coffee beans are the country’s largest export. During your stay in Ethiopia you will participate in an authentic Coffee Ceremony and experience many unique and impressive sights and sounds.
The modern political capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, with a population of more than two million people. Addis Ababa, nestled in the foothills of the Entoto Mountains, enjoys a moderate climate year round.
Ethiopia and its People
Ethiopia has 77 indigenous languages. Amharic is the official language, and English is the most widely spoken foreign language. English is spoken in secondary schools and universities. According to the national census conducted in 2007, over 37 million people or 43.5% were reported to be Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, over 29 million or 33.9% were reported to be Muslim, just under 15,7 million, or 18.6%, were Protestant, and just under two million or 2.6% adhered to traditional beliefs.
Ethiopian cuisine consists of spicy vegetable and meat dishes, served with injera, a large sourdough flatbread, made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians eat with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of food.
For more information email: inquiry@chiadopt.org
