A few weeks ago I wrote this post on a BBC photo journal on street kids living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This week BBC has a new photo journal set in Ethiopia, this one titled “Ethiopia Shoe Shine Girl”.

The pictures and the accompanying text tell the story of 12 year old Meskerem, a girl whose father has died, and whose mother’s “job” is to collect rubbish, which pays about the equivalent of $7.50 a month. The mother’s income is not enough to support the family, so as is common in... more

I love finding great adoption-related products, and recently one of my blog readers emailed me to tell me about this company that sells beautiful Adoption Day Cards.

Adoption Day is something that many families celebrate as the day that their family came together, and Adoption Day Cards came about after two adoptive moms noticed that there just weren’t any cards out there that said what they were looking for in regards to adoption.

From the website: “Adoption Day Cards is the partnership of Kate Cutko and Katie... more

Ok, so here is your “feel good” moment of the weekend. As much as I love reading other families’ adoption stories, I equally enjoy looking at photos of other adoptive families. Technology makes it possible for some families to even share adoption related videos of their family on line, and I just found one that is truly beautiful.

The video is titled “One Year Ago” and it is a wonderful slide show of photographs documenting a couple’s first few moments and days with their gorgeous baby girl from China, Zorba. The video is on a great blog titled “Shelba the Bionic... more

A recent Chicago Tribune article, titled “Interracial twins bring a new dimension to the American Family” talks about families who through adoption, end up with “virtual twins”, or children of the same age, who happen to be of different races.

The article focuses on the Goering family, whose first two children are Jenna and Sam. From the article: “Seven years ago, they entered their parents' lives on the same day. And yet, Jenna and Sam aren't twins. He was born in the U.S., the biological son of computer consultants Jody and Addison Goering. She was abandoned six months earlier in rural China, and first introduced... more

I love reading other families’ adoption stories. In fact, reading other families’ adoption stories is how I first started to think that maybe adoption was right for MY family. I had looked at all of the agency websites and done a lot of research, and to be honest, all of the countries and agencies and policies and paperwork and money and every thing else was a bit overwhelming. But when I started to read about the adoption journeys of other families, I found myself thinking that I could handle it, that I wanted to experience it and that it was the right thing for us.

So... more

On Friday my “un-photographable” post was on an orphan boy that we met in the park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Well, this morning the BBC has a photo article titled “Underground Children” that tells the plight of homeless children in Ethiopia.

These children are surviving by living underground in horrible conditions. They spend their days looking for scraps of food, working odd jobs to earn small bits of money, running from police officers, trying to avoid those in the world... more

Here is the list of organizations that I found that advertise being a resource for helping adoptive families fund their adoptions. *Word of caution- PLEASE investigate any organization closely, including insisting on references, before you give them your hard earned or hard raised money, or that of your family and friends. I have no personal experience with any of these organizations.

Anna Bears Fundraising- I just found this website today and I love it! In a nutshell, you buy teddy bears from Anna Bears, and then sell them to raise money for your adoption. You can either buy a bunch and then sell them, or pre-sell them and then order them.... more

Now that I have covered “ask nicely” and “borrow”, that leaves me with “fundraising”. As I have said in previous posts on this topic, most people who set out to adopt do not have the entire lump sum of money just sitting in a bank. I know that a lot of perspective adoptive parents feel very discouraged when they realize the costs involved with adoption and I want to encourage you that it is very possible to get the money you need when you are determined and it is for a good cause. Remember, where there is a will, there is a way.

In previous posts I gave information on adoption... more

This is the second half of resources for adoption loans. See the previous post for more information. I recommend you talk with several different organizations and banks to get a good idea of what options, interest rates, terms, etc. are available.

When I was able to find a website, I included the link and you can click on the name of the resource. In some cases I was only able to find a phone number.

The National Adoption Foundation- The NAF offers a credit card designed with adoptive families in mind, with all the benefits and protection offered by U.S. Bank and Visa. Plus, a portion of every purchase will go to support the NAF’s efforts... more

Ok, so the second plan of action in my “ask nicely, borrow and fundraise,” advice for funding your adoption is “borrow”.

Let’s face it…no one likes to borrow money. No one enjoys debt. And yet we take out loans for houses and cars and vacations and lots of other things and don’t over-think it too much. Personally, I can’t think of a better reason to get into debt than adopting a child. Hopefully you will be successful enough with the “ask nicely” and “fundraising” aspects of paying for your adoption and combining that with what you have saved, you won’t have to get into “too” much debt... more