Wide Horizons (WHFC) e-mail to clients about closures

The government of Ethiopia licenses foreign organizations, such as Wide Horizons For Children, and local organizations, such as the private orphanages that WHFC partners with in the adoption process, to operate in Ethiopia for a specific period of time. We are aware that the Ethiopian government is currently in the process of reviewing all orphanages, to ensure that they are working in compliance with the laws of Ethiopia in the adoption process. There is speculation that through this evaluation process more than twenty orphanages currently licensed to work in Ethiopia may receive some kind of disciplinary action taken against them, up to or including having their license to operate revoked by the government of Ethiopia. This week, the US Department of State released a statement regarding the rumored closure of multiple orphanages and referenced specific reports about the rumored closure of the Mussie Child Care Center, a large orphanage in the city of Hosanna. The State Department’s statement is included in this update. WHFChas never worked with nor do we have any direct contact with this orphanage, therefore we are not in a position to comment about the status of this orphanage's licensure in Ethiopia.
WHFC is proud of the work our team in Ethiopia does when selecting orphanage partners. We seek to select orphanages that share our mission of serving children first.We expect that our partner orphanages will process adoptions according to the letter of the law, treat birth families with respect and provide the highest level of care for all of the children given the constraints of limited resources. For this reason, our staff is constantly evaluating and re-evaluating these partnerships. Dr. Tsegaye has occasionally made the decision to terminate a relationship with an individual orphanages if he feels they are unable to meet our standards or the standards set by the Ethiopian government This practice is fundamental to our operation, and we believe that this constant scrutiny upholds the integrity of our adoption program on the whole in Ethiopia. We do not, however, manage these orphanages directly and we are not immune to operational problems and concerns that may arise in an individual orphanage.
When an orphanage loses its license, the children in the orphanage must be transferred to the care of another functioning orphanage. If this were to occur in one of our partner orphanages, WHFC’s highest priority would be to do all within our power to provide a smooth transition for the children to a new orphanage. Our hope would be that all of the children referred in adoption would be able to have their cases processed under the new orphanage and according to the highest ethical standards. This,however, is a complicated process and would require the collaboration and cooperation of all the involved parties, including both orphanages, the federal and locals governments of Ethiopia and the foreign organization.
We know that the matter of orphanages in Ethiopia is one that is of the utmost concern to our adoptive families.We will keep you updated should any more information about the status of orphanage licensure in Ethiopia become available.As always, please feel free to reach out to your Case Manager with questions or concerns.