Ethiopian Adoption: Meeting Your Child In Ethiopia

Roberta Kalmar served as a social work consultant and orphanage volunteer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This article is based on her experience accompanying a client to Ethiopia to adopt her 8 month old daughter.

Ethiopia has rapidly become one of the top five countries for American adoption. The attraction is heightened by the beauty of the children and their diversity and religions which encompasses the Judaic, Christian and Muslim traditions. It however is also one of the highest ranking countries for maternal mortality, malnutrition, poverty and AIDS and as with all adoptions a medical evaluation of your child is necessary when you receive your referral packet. Be sure to consult with a pediatrician knowledgeable about international adoptions and medical conditions affecting Ethiopian orphans and share with your physician your youngster's picture, medical report and developmental history. Your doctor will also provide you with travelling suggestions and prescriptions for the long trip home to America.

Americans adopting from Ethiopia have the opportunity to meet and visit with the biological family, if they are known, in their villages. It is an appointment to be eagerly accepted because in years to come it will give your child concrete information about the biological family, yield important medical and psychological information about family genetics and will also contribute to your child's Life Book. This meeting will give a window into the circumstances for the adoption and provide the chance to obtain medical information from the birth family and officials and to take family pictures. These materials, as well as a few strands of hair from the birth mother, should be submitted to your pediatrician as well as being kept by you for future genetic testing. In years to come DNA will provide information too vast to conceptualize, to adoptive families and your doctor.

When in Ethiopia your child will be cared for in the orphanage by nannies, nurses and doctors. There will also be check-ups from an outside physician in his/her office. If you have questions and are uncomfortable with the answers feel free to ask for a team consultation, as I did, with all the professionals involved with your child. If you continue to be concerned contact your physician back home for clarification before bringing your child home. Most importantly know that your child will receive inoculations in Ethiopia and must be in good health to qualify for the American visa. Your child will receive a final check-up in Ethiopia to certify these requirements have been met.

In addition to knowing your child's health and birth family you will meet the youngster you only "knew" from a photo within hours of your arrival in Ethiopia. Be aware that the trip to Addis Ababa is long and exhausting and you will be jetlagged. Take the opportunity to get rest, eat lightly and be refreshed when you meet your child. You want to feel your very best and be ready for one of the most joyous occasions you will ever experience. As you prepare for this momentous meeting remember that your little one is not accustomed to many visitors or being held by newcomers. It will take both of you time to get acquainted. Ask the nannies to help you and ask them to share information about your child. Spend as much time as you can with your child observing the feeding schedule, appetite, sleep pattern and temperament. Get accustomed to feeding and bathing your child..because in a few days the child you have been visiting daily will be placed in your custody. It will then be your decision whether to stay in your agency's guest house or a hotel of your choosing, while you await completion of your paperwork..and remember one of the advantages of Ethiopian adoption is the streamlined procedures and the adoption timetable which means your adoption is usually completed within 5-7 days of your arrival in Ethiopia.

A few words of wisdom when you return home: keep visitors to a minimum during the first weeks. Adoption is a major life change for your youngster and time is needed to rest from the long flight and to adjust to new formula/food and the immediate family. You and all those who love you and your new child will have a lifetime to celebrate.