Last week, I read this blog post. Then I read it again. Then I read it to my husband. Then to a friend. It reaffirmed for me that the most vulnerable remain the most vulnerable. And as I squirmed uncomfortably contemplating Dani's likely outcome, I could not help but think about how willing the officials would have been to welcome a healthy baby girl into their orphanage's care. Because a healthy baby girl is easily placed for international adoption. And where there is int'l adoption, there is money -- in the guise of humanitarian assistance or otherwise. But Dani is not a healthy baby girl. He is a toddler boy with Down Syndrome, who has been labeled un-adoptable (erroneously) by the powers that be. So his mother is turned away, left to her own devices. And we are left with a system that preserves families only as a last resort. And here I was thinking that international adoption was the last resort. Silly me.
As cynical as I may seem, I have managed to retain some idealistic notions from my college years. Back when I thought I was going to law school to serve the public sector. Before I sold out to the allure of a big law firm and an even bigger paycheck. I can still sometimes hear the voice of the 21-year old who thought she could change the world -- not just live in it-- and, although barely a whisper these days, that voice still resonates with hope.
Because I do not think the system in Ethiopia is broken beyond repair.
MOWA (The Ministry of Women's Affairs) has limited the number of cases it reviews each week and the United States Embassy is asking more discerning questions before issuing a visa. Last week, the Ethiopian government closed approximately 15 orphanages in southern Ethiopia for non-compliance. And just yesterday I read with increased optimism about a new non-governmental organization in Ethiopia that promotes, educates and advocates for domestic adoption. And if I was 21 years old again, I'd propose the following measures to further improve the integrity of the process and to ensure that the most vulnerable children are served, rather than the most adoptable:
- Reduce the number of families a placement agency can have contracts with during any given period. For example, each licensed US adoption agency operating in Ethiopia may only have contracts with 20 families each year.
- MOWA and the US Embassy work collaboratively to increase the scope and detail of their reviews. Face to face interviews are conducted with family members, police officers, drop-in center representatives, neighbors, etc. and files are read in their entirety to ensure accuracy. Missing or contradictory information is tracked down and reconciled.
- In cases of proposed relinquishment, MOWA provides counseling to families regarding alternatives to relinquishment and provides access to support services. In cases of abandonment, there is fixed period (2 months?) during which information about the abandoned child is publicly posted.
- MOWA and the US Embassy conduct these reviews prior to deeming a child available for adoption. Only after MOWA and the US Embassy are satisfied that family preservation, respite, sponsorship, etc. are not feasible options, or that a child has truly been abandoned, may a child be eligible for referral to an adoptive family.
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I have made the necklaces below with beads from Ethiopia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali. Each handmade bead and pendant is a storyteller's ware. And I'd like to donate the profits from the sale of these necklaces to a charity or charities that work to preserve families in the developing world. So tell me, do you have a favorite charity that fits this description that you would like to nominate? I will share information about each nominated charity in my next blog post, collectively raising awareness for their work. I will then select a beneficiary from the list of nominations. (Check out my etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TradeBead?ref=pr_shop for more photos and descriptions.)

























