Day 10 Part 2 and ADOPTION info

Day 10 Part 2

NOTE ADOPTION INFO INCLUDED IN THIS POST

We did so many things after I posted on Day 10 that I am going to add a part 2

Our high school children get out of school at 12 noon on Fridays as well as Peace. So I took the 13 children out for ice cream for Peace’s birthday. The children enjoyed it and then we went to the outdoor market. Thandie bought me an avocado so I could make home made Malawi guacamole. We also got some pineapples, apples and spinach. We did a couple other errands and then headed back to the children’s home.

I made the guacamole which is far from homemade San Diego guacamole, but it was better than no guacamole. The avocados here have more yellow on the inside and are watery.

After dinner we had a visit from the adoption attorney. He was kind enough to make a home visit. I met with him last year and then shortly after I returned to San Diego Madonna adopted from Malawi and there was lots of publicity and we decided to wait a bit. This attorney actually assisted in the Madonna adoption and has also completed adoptions for families from America, Australia and France.

I have had so many people express interest in adopting from Malawi, so here is the run down on the Malawi adoptions. There are a few changes from what we were told last year.

A homestudy in America is not required.
The adoptive family does not have to reside in Malawi
There are no post placement reports required
The attorney fee is $2000, this covers finding a child, the social welfare interview in Malawi, filing of the adoption petition, Court fee, Visa application, and adoption consent from village and or birth parents.
Both parents have to be present in order for them both to adopt. If only one parent can be present the other parent has to send a signed consent saying that they are in agreement with their husband or wife adopting. The other parent can adopt the child once the child is in US.
If the child is under 1 year of age the adoptive mother must be present.
The timeline looks like this.
Once a child is chosen by a family (there is no referral process), the attorney starts the process of getting the consent from the village/orphanage/birth parents. Then the social welfare interview is scheduled, the family flies to Malawi (plane tickets are about $2500 each). After the interview a court date is scheduled for the adoption hearing. The attorney will try to rush this appointment to have it with in one to two weeks after interview. Once adoption is complete the paperwork is submitted to the US Embassy in Malawi for the Visa. This usually takes three weeks and can not be rushed by the Malawians because it is completely up to the US as to when they will grant the VISA. So the entire process will likely take 5 weeks. If the parents can not stay for 5 weeks, they may arrange for the child to be transported by someone else, but this will likely add to the adoption cost.
It is also strongly encouraged that the adoptive family give a donation to the orphanage or village. This is not required and a certain amount is not set. It can be items and/or money.

Please note that this is general adoption information for Malawi. Brother Gentry would need to give concent and approval for any child adopted out of Good Samaritan.