Interesting information on Ethiopia

While surfing the web, I came across a website that hosts photography/cultural safaris in Ethiopia (www.ethiopianriftvalleysafaris.com/). On the introductory page, I thought there was some cool information about Ethiopia:
It is with great pride that we present Ethiopia - an ancient land of history and nature, and land of unusual contrasts. With a legacy going back as far as 60 centuries, Ethiopia is a land of mystery with regions yet unexplored.


As a tribute to this legacy, the UN Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added 7 Ethiopian entries to its "World Heritage Sites" declaration. Among these sites: Hadar, the "Cradle of Mankind" and more specifically of 3.5 million year-old hominid "Lucy;" the spectacularly rugged Simien Mountains; and the unequaled architecture of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

Perhaps unparalleled in its variations, experts recognize Ethiopia to have as many as 16 different agro-climatic zones and rank it as one of the top 12 countries known for having richest bio-diversity.


Splendidly lush Afro-Alpine moorland peaks rise to 4620 mts while not far away lies a contrasting sulfuric inferno, the dazzling Dallol Depression with one of the lowest points on earth at 100 meters below sea level.

Lying in the tropics and with an area of over 1 million square kms most of the country consists of an elevated airy tableland dissected by deep river gorges and bordered all round by arid lowlands.

The most remarkable valley on the planet, the Great Rift Valley cuts across Ethiopia creating a string of 7 lakes, rich in all life forms.

Ethiopia's 9 national parks and 4 sanctuaries are known as much for their unique animal and bird life as for fabulous nature. An impressive array of fauna includes many endemic species: 31 of 277 mammal; 16 of 861 bird; 24 of 63 amphibian; 9 of 210 reptile; and 4 of 150 fish. The flora count is equally interesting in that at least 1000 of the 7000 plant species are restricted to Ethiopia. For entomology enthusiasts, 324 butterflies are recognized of which 7 are said to be endemic.

Rich too in cultural heritage, more than 88 language groups endow this ancient land. Nearing 60 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is Africa's third most populous nation, so it follows that there exists a bounty of exotic costumes, colorful ceremonies and celebrations, arts, crafts, music and dance that liken Ethiopia to an "Africa miniaturized" …each ethnic group with distinct tradition and fascinating character.

Added pleasure can always be found in Ethiopia's mild climate and claim to fame that boasts "13 Months of Sunshine." In rain or shine, with all its varied and dramatic contrasts, Ethiopia is certain to create fulfilling memories not only for the Adventure Traveler but for anyone with a spirit thirsty for an enchanting new experience. Taste the waters of Ethiopia…and vow to return to her again one day.

Updates on process

We should have big news soon, but for now, here's an update from our agency: :-)

New court travel requirements
-Families must be present for their court appointment
-One parent will be allowed to represent the family at either court or embassy appointments. It will not need to be the same parent.
-The in-country time needed for the court appointment will be less than 24 hours.
-Parents will be required to visit their child before going to their court appointment.

And Now Some GOOD News:
-IAN has reached agreements with two new orphanages to place children with families! We hope to begin finding families for these kids in the next few weeks.
-IAN’s care home will be moving in the next few weeks. We have already outgrown our current location, so the new home will have eight rooms, and will house 10-20 more children.
-The new care home will allow kids 2 1/2 years and up to attend preschool classes at the care home.

Hopefully by tripling the number of orphanages, our referral will come sooner than we thought!! Our families are hoping to shave 4 months off the process so we can bring little sister home before Christmas!!
Kirsta & Michael

Homestudy ALMOST complete

The only clearances we're still waiting on are from the FBI. Our social worker has our homestudy report (18 pages long!) complete except for that date. Michael & I will review and sign the homestudy this Sunday. As soon as the FBI clearances are in, the report will go to our adoption agency and then the State for approval.

Once this is all complete, we'll go on the wait list!

Kirsta

Update on 2 trips

Just got this update from our agency regarding travel--we will be making 2 trips to Ethiopia. :)

The Department of State posted an update about the new travel policy.  This will begin on May 9th, 2010.  Every family with a court date after May 9th will be effected by this new rule and should plan on traveling twice.  One parent can travel with a POA to the court date.  If your family chooses to do this, you will receive an IR-4 visa instead of the IR-3 visa.  This means that your child will not become a citizen upon entry to the US.  The list of orphanages that had their licenses revolked are listed.  IAN is not affiliated with any of these orphanages.  You can read the update at http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html.

 

Kirsta & Michael

Still waiting....and the form!

Our homestudy is taking a bit longer to finalize than expected. We are also still waiting on our background checks to come back to our agency. We did send in our Dossier and IAN received it last week.

Tonight we are filling out the "Child Placement Request" form for IAN--we asked to be added to the 0-1 and 1-2 year old girl lists once everything is in place!

Kirsta & Michael

Dossier COMPLETE!!!

We are having a big celebration here--we received our final piece of documentation today in the mail to complete our portion of the dossier. The dossier (French for "file") is what goes to the Ethiopian government.

Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, here's an outline of where we go from here:

1. Tomorrow make copies of our dossier and mail to IAN (our adoption agency)
2. Wait for CBI/FBI/etc background checks to be sent to IAN (expected very soon)
3. Once background checks are complete, our homestudy can be completed (hopefully in the next couple of weeks)
4. Homestudy is added to the dossier and sent to Ethiopia. At this point we're officially on the wait list for our daughter!! Woo-hoo!!
5. Complete USCIS paperwork, fingerprints, etc while waiting
6. Wait some more (hopefully not more than 8 months, which is the longest anyone has waited with our agency to date--but, you never know with international adoption!)
7. Get a referral (a picture and info on our daughter!)
8. Travel for court appearance in Ethiopia (about 2 months after referral)
9. Travel to Ethiopia to bring our daughter home (about 2 months after court)

Stay tuned--we'll post when we officially go on the wait list!!

A very happy Kirsta & Michael

Great news on Adoption Tax Credit

This is great news for us! It helps offset the adoption fees.

Kirsta & Michael

Please see the following announcement from the Joint Council on International Children's Services on the Adoption Tax Credit:
Joint Council is pleased to confirm that the Adoption Tax Credit (ATC), which was scheduled to expire in 2010, was extended for one-year (through December 31, 2011). The highlights of the ATC are;

The maximum credit was increased from $12,150 to $13,170,

The ATC is now retroactive to January 1, 2009. This represents a potential increase of $1,000 for adoptive families.

The ATC was made refundable. If a family has no tax liability, the IRS will refund the amount due.

The extension of the ATC through 2011, was passed as part of the health care reform bill which was signed into law by President Obama on Monday, March 22, 2010. There was some concern that the ATC would be included in the reconciliation process, however we have confirmed that it is not part of reconciliation. This means that the ATC is law until December 31, 2011.

Joint Council along with many other advocates and adoptive families have long advocated for making the ATC permanent. We applaud Congress and the Obama administration for the extension and continue to call for a permanent tax credit.

The ATC is a critically important element in finding permanent families for children in the U.S. foster care system and the children of our world, who live without permanent parental care. The ATC makes adoption a viable option for many families who may otherwise be unable to afford to adopt. We again applaud the extension and improvements to the Adoption Tax Credit.