Rumor has it...

... that matching has begun. My agency did not share this with me as official news coming out of KTM, but Tanya posted some uplifting news today on her blog http://achairtospare.blogspot.com/2009/04/todays-update.html

Her news stated that the Ministry has almost 200 children registered and the matching process has started. Apparently, they have matched 3 families already and those families are waiting to be notified. This is much better news than the crickets we have been hearing lately from Nepal!

The First 25 Families...

Many thanks to Tanya http://achairtospare.blogspot.com/2009/04/nepal-weekly-update.html
for sharing with us the information she received from her case manager at AGCI. It sounds like 25 files were forwarded to the Family Matching Committee (FMC) for the matching process to begin. According to the timeframe when AGCI submitted their first dossier, it is taking about two months from submission to the legal section to get to the FMC. Rumors are that it will take another two months for these families to be matched and then four months after referral to travel. Again, this is not an official announcement, but a compilation of the knowledge I am gathering on the Yahoo group and on individual blogs.

It has been a bit like crickets lately so it is good to hear someone is seeing some movement!

Madonna's Adoption

As most of us know, Madonna filed a petition to adopt a girl, Chifundo James. A judge rejected it based on a residency requirement and the judge's belief that the child was in good hands at an orphanage. Regardless of your feelings about Madonna, this is a great CNN interview with Melissa Fay Greene, an author and mother of five adopted children from Ethiopia and Bulgaria. She also has four biological children. Greene makes the point that Madonna is, in part, trying to raise the world's consciousness about the African orphan crisis given that 95 percent of the kids orphaned by AIDS [globally] are in sub-Saharan Africa. It helps put international adoption in perspective, regardless of the entertainment headlines.
www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/04/03/madonna.reaction.adoption.malawi

Madagascar Adoptions

I was talking to a friend about other options for international adoption since she is not eligible for Nepal based on the length of her marriage. She did some research and is interested in looking at Madagascar. If you are like me, you may have to look at a map to see where it is located. The country is on an island on the southeastern coast of Africa. It is the fourth largest island in the world, slightly larger than France.

Apparently Intercountry adoptions are not new here, but it is a new program for the US. She mentioned that the children are between the ages of 13 months and 12 years and speak French or Malagasy. My friend just got married a year ago so she doesn't yet qualify as you have to be married for two years. One of the two has to be over 30, but apparently there isn't an upper age limit. This country is not for families with more than three children. Similar to the old process in Nepal, it is a two-trip process. The first is between 2-3 weeks and both mom and dad must travel. Then 3 – 4 months later, a second trip is required for 1-2 weeks.

Anyway, I thought it was worth noting for those families looking at other options outside of Nepal.