As I wrote about in my last post, there can be many challenges involved with adoption from Africa, especially when prospective adoptive parents are not adopting through a very established program (or are not going through an adoption agency). While the rewards of a successful adoption are great, the risks can be great as well, so it is important that adoptive parents go into an adoption from Africa educated and prepared.

One of the common roadblocks (or at least hurdles) in adopting from Africa is that many of the African countries that do have actual laws and procedures in regards to international adoption, have lengthy "residency requirements" for adoptive parents. While I would love to live in Kenya, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Lesotho or just about any other African country for three to six months, it is not realistic for me to do so, and I know that it is not realistic or even possible for many other prospective adoptive parents.

Some countries waive the residency requirement in practice, but any time there is such a law or requirement in writing, it is important for adoptive parents to remember that it can be enforced at any time.

There are many countries in Africa that are currently processing handfulls of international adoptions each year. As more and more adoptive parents feel pulled to adopt from Africa and the numbers of orphans continue to increase, hopefully more adoption programs will become stable, predictable choice for adoptive parents.

For now, adoptive parents must do their research when choosing a country in Africa to adopt from, so that they are educated about and prepared for the process and can choose the right path to find their future child.

Here are some resources to get you started:

Country Requirements for International Adoption - Includes information on six different African countries.

Adoptions From Africa - Includes adoption information and resources on 26 different African countries. Lots of links and great information.

Adopting from Africa - This is a forum for parents adopting from Africa. There is one for parents adopting specifically from Ethiopia, and one for parents adopting from any other African countries.

Adopt Africa - This is a Yahoo email group for anyone adopting from Africa. It is a great place to get and share information. You can also go to Yahoo Groups and search for country-specific adoption groups.

If you have another resource for families researching adopting from Africa, please leave a comment.