The latest news from AAI is that babies continue come to Layla House/Wanna House (the orphanage) in Addis. This is good news for those of us who are anxiously awaiting a referral, but it does not bode well for the conditions in Ethiopia. The influx of babies coming to Wanna is largely due to the drought that has been plaguing the country since last year. Food prices continue to rise which only contributes to many families not being able to provide ample nutrition for their children. Food and water shortages continue to worsen and many report that it is the worst drought and famine since 1984. AAI is currently caring for 64 infants and toddlers—typically this number is significantly lower.
Unfortunately, AAI’s resources are being tapped due to the extra food, diapers, supplies and staff needed to manage all of these babies. Not only are more babies in the care of our agency, they are staying in their care longer due to the back-up of processing the paperwork and scheduling court dates. This means that once we receive a referral, we will likely have to wait 4-6 months instead of 3-5 months to travel to bring our baby home.
The process of adoption is bitter-sweet. While we rejoice in growing our own family, Donovan and I mourn for our child loosing his/her first family. And so we pray for Ethiopia. We pray for food and rain. We pray for tomorrow. We invite you to pray with us. Amen.
Click here (or paste this address into your web browser) to watch a 5-minute USA Today video report about how the drought and hunger conditions have affected the children in Ethiopia . . .
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-17-ethiopia_N.htm
