It has been pointed out to me that I have been neglecting my “Transracial Adoption Options”, where I give posts on countries that allow transracial adoption and some specifics about the adoption programs. To see the rest of these posts click here.

These are kind of like the immigration posts…they are timely to write and require quite a bit of research, and are probably on the boring side to read…but I sure do hope that they come in handy for someone.

I “left off” somewhere in Africa…I have already written about Liberia and Ethiopia. I’ve been putting this post off because it is a more difficult one to write.

Africa is a continent ravaged by disease, famine, drought, war…all of which have created millions of orphans. And yet, many of the countries in Africa do not allow international adoption. Many African countries do no not believe in adoption, for a wide variety of reasons. When an adoption program does start up, it is often closed shortly thereafter because of concerns regarding corruption (such as Sierra Leone) or changes in government officials and/or policy. There are handfuls of brave, pioneer adoptive parents that have managed to get around the stricter and more difficult adoption regulations in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and others, but there is very little “clear cut” and definite information to give regarding these countries and adoption.

Sierra Leone was a fairly popular adoption program up until a little while ago, when reports of corruption stopped all adoptions. There are families still struggling to get their children home, and many are hoping that the program will be able to be reformed and reopened.

Below I will give resources on adoption from African countries other than Ethiopia and Liberia. If anyone has a resource or information on an African country or program that is allowing international adoption, please let me know.

Africa Adoption Links- This great page has links to adoption information for over 20 African countries. There is lots of good information here.

The Adopt Africa Yahoo Group- There are lots of people on here with experience in many African countries. The archives are a great resource, as are the list members.

One More Starfish- This is a non-for profit organization working to bring humanitarian aid to Rwanda, as well as to open doors for international adoptions. The group had a successful trip in July, and have another trip planned in October. It sounds like adoptions very well may be possible and developing a set procedure and requirements is in the works.

Africa Forums at Adoption.com- This is another great place to meet other adoptive parents and ask questions

Consular Information sheets- this page from the US Department of State provides official adoption-related information on many countries.