Orphan Visa Statistics- Will Ethiopia be # 3

I've heard rumors that Ethiopia has moved up to the #3 country. In March or April (*if I remember correctly) of last year they posted the numbers for the previous year.

I'm anxious to see where Ethiopia falls in the list.

The state department website outlines the top 21 countries international adoptions are occurring in and tracks the number of Visa's issued- I'm sure most of you have seen this site by now. Below I have pulled Ethiopia out of the data.

Year	Placement	Ethiopian Orphan Visas issued	Total number of Orphan Visas Issued
1994	20	54	8333
1995	17	63	8987
1996	*did not make top 21		10641
1997	*did not make top 21		12743
1998	15	96	15774
1999	Not reported		16363
2000	16	95	17718
2001	15	158	19237
2002	16	105	20099
2003	15	135	21616
2004	9	289	22884
2005	7	441	22728
2006	5	732	20679
2007	?	?	?

For more information please visit:
www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html

Living with Hunger, Ethiopia

I borrowed a movie from a friend also adopting from Ethiopia called "Living with Hunger" - a documentary by Insight news TV. I'm really surprised it is not more widely circulated and that it took this long to learn about it.

Sorious Samura goes to a village in Ethiopia and lives with the community as a member of the community for 30 days. His film crew drops him off with just a few pieces of clothing but with no money and no "food". His goal is to integrate with the village residents and live as they do- with them. He works in the fields, and lives as a male member of the community would.

Here's a brief summary from their website: "In an unprecedented mission, Sorious Samura set out to understand the real stories of people living on the edge of starvation. He moved into a remote village in Ethiopia far away from the range of the UN and most NGO's. Between August and September Sorious lived in a hut and survived on the same meagre diet as the rest of the villagers."

It also gives you a glimpse of the beautiful Ethiopian country side and the wonderful nature of the Ethiopian people.
I'd recommend checking out the movie in it's entirety but - here are some places that you can see the basics:

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1797266

got 10 bucks? Send a Net, Save a Life.

You have to check out this website. It's great. http://www.nothingbutnets.net

My DH sent a url to me today that said- hey you have to check this out- at first I thought- hmm- Denis sending spam- that's odd.

So I called him-being the cautious computer user I can be.. then...
I couldn't believe it...

There's a company out there- providing Mosquito nets to families in Africa. They have incorporated themselves as a non-profit so your donation is tax deductable and... all of the money you donate goes directly to buying nets. NO ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS... and finally a web developer that gets it- It took me about 2 minutes to figure this all out.

Okay, so perhaps I'm a little too enthusiastic about this-but it's not often that:
a) I can find the information I really want to know in a short period of time on a website.
b) am excited- truly excited about keeping families together and know that providing a tool to a family to protect them from malaria - it keeps parents and children alive. What better gift can you give?

So many people wonder why Denis and I are often okay with the wait. I guess deep down - our dirty little secret and it why most of the time the wait doesn't trouble us-is that I really feel that the longer I wait- the more it means families are able to stay together.

There's so much information out there pointing otherwise-but hey we all need something- and this is what I cling to- even if it is a bit delusional. It helps me think ahead- what can I do to really feel like my adoption is necessary and "making a difference".

If all of us adoptive parents jump in and found a way to keep one child with his or her mom and dad just a little bit longer (or mom and dad with their children)- sure in the end- the wait for our dreams to come true will be longer-but deep down- we'll know we will be making a bigger difference in the world that our children will inherit.

If I know that people are really working together in this world to keep adoption a last resort and that the children I am raising really needed me as much as I needed to raise them-
then to me- is "worth the wait".
"
I'm no Mother Theresa so- now next time I'm desperately wanting the "pitter patter" of little feet in my home- remind me- laugh :-).

So check out the website. http://www.nothingbutnets.net . And if you have an extra 10 bucks - buy a net and save a life.

Here's a snippet from the website:

• "In the poorest parts of the world, where effective window screens are lacking, insecticide-treated bed nets are arguably the most cost-effective way to prevent malaria transmission. One bed net costs just $10 to buy and deliver to individuals in need. One bed net can safely last a family for about four years, thanks to a long-lasting insecticide woven into the net fabric. "
• Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Yet in Africa, malaria infections have actually increased over the last three decades. Malaria is a leading cause of death of children in Africa, killing nearly one million children each year.
• Every day 3,000 children die from the disease.

They are not in Ethiopia Yet- but perhaps together we can get them there :-).