Ethiopia Bound: It made it!!

Our Timeline

3/6/12: Decision to adopt made
3/7/12: Began home study process
3/16/12: Mailed completed home study packet
3/19/12: Received dossier instructions
3/26/12: Home visit done
3/30/12: Mailed USCIS application
4/2/12: Mailed completed dossier to West Sands Adoptions
4/4/12: Dossier arrives at West Sands and is mailed to the state of Utah for authentication
4/20/12: Dossier arrives in Washington D.C. for authentication by the Department of State
4/25/12: Dossier arrives back at West Sands Adoptions
4/26/12: Dossier picked up from West Sands (in Utah) en route to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia via Fed Ex
4/30/12: Dossier arrives in Ethiopia
1/3/13: Officially placed on temporary hold
3/20/13: Birth of Elena!
6/20/13: Officially off hold
6/20/13: Received a referral match!!! 9 month old boy :-)

6/26/13: Submitted to court

7/12/13: Preliminary hearing date

7/31/13: Passed court in Ethiopia!!! Micah is officially our son!

8/28/13: Case submitted to the US Embassy

Currently: Awaiting our case to be approved by the US Embassy.

Why Ethiopia?

Total population of Ethiopia is 85,237,338
Average life expectancy is 55 years
Over 1 million Ethiopians are infected with AIDS
Adult prevalence of HIV is 2.1%
An estimated 750,000 are orphaned because of AIDS
There are approximately 5 million orphans in Ethiopia
1 in 10 children die before their first birthday
1 in 6 children die before their fifth birthday
Doctor to child ratio is 1 to 24,000
Overall doctor ratio is 1 to 35,000
60% of children are stunted because of malnutrition
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than half of all child deaths
44% of the population is under 15 years old
Half of children will never attend school
88% will never attend secondary school
Average class size in government schools is 85-100 children
Adult literacy rate is 42%
47% of the population lives below the poverty rate
The annual per capita income is less than $160
Only 40% of the population has access to improved drinking-water sources
Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
In 2007, 6.3% of US international adoptions were from Ethiopia (1,254)
In 2010, 22.7% of US international adoptions were from Ethiopia (2,511)

Ethiopia Bound

Monday, April 30, 2012

It made it!!

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