Some New Ethiopia Program Updates!

Dear James & Kelly,
We are writing to inform you of several announcements made by the State Department regarding Ethiopia adoption. In conjunction with the previous announcement that re-instates the requirement for families, who submit paperwork after May 9th, to be present for court, the State Department announced the possible use of a special power of attorney in the case that both adoptive parents are unable to be present.[http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html] While America World continues to strongly recommend both families travelling to be present at the court date, this special power of attorney will be permitted for use only in the case that one spouse cannot travel during the scheduled court date due to unavoidable obligations and/or in the case of an emergency. Upon receiving a referral, families are welcome to speak in more detail with their family coordinator about this possibility if needed.

In addition, the State Department has also issued an alert on travel to Ethiopia before and after the national parliamentary elections scheduled for May 23, 2010. [http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2108.html]This alert was issued in result of the violence in the past that ensued in Addis Ababa and other parts of Ethiopia before and after the national elections. Families who are scheduled to travel between May 23, 2010 and July 1, 2010 are encouraged to evaluate whether they feel comfortable to travel or would like to delay their travel until after the travel alert has expired on July 1st. We respect families’ decisions regarding these matters and if you have further questions concerning this please feel free to contact our travel coordinator.

Lastly, the Government of Ethiopia recently announced that they have revoked the licenses of nine orphanages in different regions of the country. [http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html]. These orphanages are: Adera child orphanage, Agar Lewegen orphanage, Almaz orphanage, Biruh Zemen orphanage, Help for the Needy orphanage, Holy Savior orphanage, Kunket orphanage, and Tsega orphanage. Children in these orphanages have been relocated to accredited orphanages, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs has stated that those children should still be available to be matched for international adoption. America World did not work with any of these aforementioned orphanages and therefore this change does not affect any children referred to any America World families.

We desire to provide our families with current information in regards to the adoption process and will continue to inform families of any changes and/or announcements made in regards of Ethiopia adoption.