As adoptive parents, especially transracially adopting parents, we are bound to run into some bias out there. We all know what racism is, right? And sexism? What about “adoptism”? A term coined by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall, co-founders of PACT, they define it as follows:

A belief that forming a family by birth is superior to forming a family by adoption. A belief that keeping a child with his/her biological parents is inherently better than placing a child for adoption. A belief that for those growing up as adopted people, the primary determinant of human traits and capacities is genetics A belief that differences in family-building structures or... more

Continued from here

So, once you are in-country, here are the remaining steps!

16. Get settled in hotel/hostel/friend's home. 17. Sleep like the dead. 18. Buy a mobile phone. You will definitely want one. 19. Visit orphanages, talk to a variety of people and ask about available children. Repeat as needed. 20. Choose child or children... more

This may vary from country to country, depending on their laws, rules and regulations, but here is an overview of the steps to independent international adoption. I have more or less followed all these steps in adopting independently from three different countries (although when I started, there were no cell phones, no digital cameras to send back pics and no Internet – not even a “land” phone!)

1. Decide which country you want to adopt from. 2. Research as much as you can about the dossier requirements for said... more

Published here, this article came out this week. It says in part:

Daring human traffickers are taking advantage of Mozambique’s weak adoption laws in order to traffic children out of the country for the purposes of prostitution or cheap labour, Vista News reported on Tuesday.

This was said by Lurdes Mabunda, head of the Department of Women and Children in the Ministry of Interior, in a report in the latest issue of the International Organisation on Migration newsletter, Eye of Human Trafficking released this week.She said the use of the adoption laws was the latest form of... more

1. You take all the risk, meaning you can put forth a lot of time, effort and money – including one or more trips - and still end up with no child.

2. You are in your child's country for several weeks, rather than just a few days. You may have to make more than one trip.

3. The time table is more fluid and you may need to extend your trip.

4. The cost savings may be negligible after factoring in extra travel time, including the possibility of more than one trip.

5. You... more

1. You have more control over the entire process, including timing of your travel. (Not total control, however!)

2. You are generally VERY involved in deciding which child comes to your family, oftentimes after you have seen the child in person.

3. Depending on which country you adopt from, you may be able to adopt a newborn.

4. Overall time frame, from referral to travel home, is often MUCH shorter than with an agency.

5. Along with... more

Just to be clear, in my mind when I say “independent”, I mean “non-agency”. For some folks, those terms are not synonymous, so I want you to know where I'm coming from. Some families will not use an agency, but will choose to use facilitators, or to work directly with an orphanage that is familiar with adoption proceedings. Others hire only drivers and translators and figure out the rest as they go. Having said that, I know of no one for whom “independent adoption” means that NO ONE else is involved. That just does not seem possible to me unless... more

As we think about agency and independent adoption, of course, some things are very similar. The angst of waiting, naming decisions, perhaps transracial adoption issues and definitely the paperwork – those are all the same for prospective adoptive families. (OK – each family is unique, but you know what I mean.) The dossier, for example, will be the same in any country you adopt from, whether you use an agency or not. When our family adopted from Ethiopia in 2004, our dossier looked just like all the other families who were adopting that year, Department... more

I've been wanting to blog about independent international adoption and how that differs from agency adoption for some time now. I know many of you readers wonder why I'm adopting independently and others wonder how I'm doing it. I understand that the majority of adopting parents will choose an agency – that's great. Many people would never consider independent adoption, let alone independent adoption in a different country – no problem. Being the free spirit that I am, though, I appreciate being able to look at all options and decide which one is right... more

From the AFROL news

New research dramatically contradicts the popular conclusions of recently published reports, holding that male circumcision protects against contracting AIDS. Scientists looking at male circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM) practices in Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania found that the cut in itself was causing many new AIDS cases among adolescents.

The research, published in the March issue of the scientific journal 'Annals of Epidemiology', was carried out by a team of researchers led by Devon Brewer, director of the research firm Interdisciplinary Scientific Research. "We found that circumcised virgins... more