Greetings Ethiopia families!
It is our hope that you are well and enjoying this last month of summer as you prepare for the start of the school year. As we head into this month and into the court recess in Ethiopia, we wanted to make sure we are keeping you all informed about some current updates in the program. We are so appreciative of your patience as we have had the opportunity to connect with many of you this week for monthly update calls. It’s always so good to reconnect and we are looking forward to continuing to touch base next week with those of you who are still awaiting these calls. In the meantime, we have had the chance to rejoice this morning over families cleared by the US embassy while also learning some more challenging news for some other families in the program.
As we shared in an update email sent earlier this week, we learned that a number of orphanages throughout the Southern region of Ethiopia have been closed by the regional government there, including homes run by Bethzatha Children’s Home Association (BCHA) one of the orphanages we partner with. Again, the decision to close these homes was made by the regional government in the south which, much like our congressional state offices here in the US, have the authority to make decisions, mandates, or regulations that may exclusively impact that specific region or state.
As we indicated in our email earlier this week, it was originally anticipated that BCHA cases from this region currently in the court process would not be affected by these closures. However, today our staff have learned that these particular cases, exclusively from the south, will in fact be placed on hold by MOWYCA until the regional government has had the opportunity to review and investigate any case related to these home closures. To date, the specific reason for these home closures continues to be unclear, but it is apparent that this is affecting a number of children at various orphanages in the south. The US Department of State has issued a recent notice regarding this situation so we have included this information below for you to review as well.
At this time, the homes run by BCHA in other regions of Ethiopia are still licensed to operate and care for children in need. Again, you can see from the US Department of State posting, the orphanage homes that are closed are in very specific areas within the southern region of Ethiopia. At this time, AGCI will continue to place children assigned to Hannah’s Hope from other BCHA homes and/or other orphanages we partner with in areas outside of the southern region of Ethiopia.
Today we have been in touch with families whose case may be directly impacted by this news. For the rest of our AGCI Ethiopia families though, we would ask that you continue to be in prayer, to be encouraging, and to be sensitive to the children and families directly impacted by this situation. With every adoption story there are inevitably highs and lows, unforeseen changes, challenges, obstacles and mountains to overcome. Still, we know and believe God’s hands to be all over the many children we serve and we look forward to advocating along with the many adoption workers in Ethiopia for a quick resolution to this situation and a speedy homecoming for these little ones.
Peace,
~Brandi, Kiersten, and Toni
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