I'm starting off a bundle of news related to African adoption, orphans and such with a link to a lovely African adoption story of three Liberian kids adopted into a family in a small town in Northern California.

Mawolin, Joseph and Elizabeth Summers haven't been home long, just since April, but this report indicates that they're doing very well in their settling in and happy to be part of this new family.

Zambia just made its first ever contribution to the UN World Food Program (WFP), with 10,000 metric tons of corn.

I don't really understand this story, though, as the corn will reportedly be used to "... allow hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Zambians to keep receiving crucial food assistance beyond September."

There must be some sort of tit-for-tat going on as apparently if this donation had not been made the WFP would have 'been forced' to stop providing food assistance to 370,000 Zambians.

This Zambian donation will also boost local food markets because the Zambian government buys its maize from small-scale farmers.

Huh?

If someone can explain this, please do.

For another confusing story, this one out of Nigeria will do. About some Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) national action plan that isn't, it's difficult to work out if there's good news or not in the report.

Good luck.

From Botswana, this story about extended family members caring for orphaned kids and how that works, or doesn't.

One issue seems to be being able to afford school uniforms, which has me begging the question: Couldn't the whole uniform requirement be dropped in places where people are so poor that lack of uniform keeps kids from getting an education?

In Malawi, and Australian volunteer group from "Architects without Frontiers" is teaching people how to build houses without devastating their environment.

By switching from kiln-dried bricks that are responsible for heavy deforestation ... and all the problems that causes ... to sun-dried blocks, construction suddenly becomes a sustainable endeavor.

A big part of this project is the construction of an educational center that will house the region's best library, a youth club, training rooms and serve about 1100 children.

In Mozambique, problems and a bit of sleeze are taking a toll on orphan programs.

One issue? Officials in many of the provinces are charging for the registration of orphans. Yep. If a child is more than 90 days old they have passed the free registration date, even if the parents are dead. The cost is equal to about $2.00, but in a country where more than half the population lives on less than a dollar a day, this is no paltry sum.

Add that to the reality of community leaders demanding money before they will issue a "certificate of poverty" that entitles holders to free health, education and other services, and you get a picture of how life is for the poor of Mozambique.

And seeing that we're wrapping with sleaze, we might as well end with this Question and Answer session on the economy in Zimbabwe.

Doing a very good job of explaining the whats, whys and wherefores of the mess that is Zimbawe's financial situation, the article lays it on the line and gives simple answers to questions related to just why a country that had been the "breadbasket of Africa" now has the worst-performing economy in the world.