http://aboutadoption.org News and information from across the adoption world Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:23:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Just a bit of reflection here: back in the 1970s, I took an evening babysitting job with a family in my neighborhood. I'd never met them before; they'd gotten my name from someone else. I lived in an all-white neighborhood. The parents were white; they had two white children of ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/07/11/yes-you-can-adopt-a-child-from-africa-part-3/ I really want to thank everyone for their comments following my last post.   We certainly have a diverse group of readers!  Diversity is such a big part of adoption and it can evoke a range of emotions.  As with many things, adoption has some terms that are totally unique unto ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/07/09/51/ I was unable to find statistics on how many of these African children are adopted by white Americans vs. African Americans (or any other race); however, I did find some food for thought in various discussion groups on the subject. First, international adoption can be less costly than domestic adoption, which ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/07/09/yes-you-can-adopt-a-child-from-africa-part-2/ In an earlier series of posts, I discussed the reluctance of many African countries to allow adoption, by American families or otherwise. Happily, there are exceptions to the generalization. While most of Africa's 54 countries do not allow adoption (for a variety of cultural, religious, and political reasons), some do. Ethiopia ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/07/08/yes-you-can-adopt-a-child-from-africa-part-1/ "I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." --- Robert Frost   Adoption is most certainly the road less traveled by and for my family, it has indeed made all of the difference.  My name is Alyson LaBarge and  I'd like to introduce myself as a new ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/07/07/my-road-less-traveled/ Some visible Americans have made news recently by adopting kids from Africa. This scenario, however, is very much the exception to the rule. Most of Africa's 54 countries do not allow adoption, for a variety of cultural, religious, and political reasons. Even some Americans feel it is naïve and arrogant ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/06/26/20-million-orphans-in-africa%e2%80%a6can-anyone-do-anything-part-3/ The person I mentioned who knows a lot about Swaziland is an American who is actually moving his family there to help take care of some of these orphans. For a brief moment, I thought I had a brilliant idea. Remember Operation Babylift? In case you don't, here's the Wikipedia entry ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/06/25/20-million-orphans-in-africa%e2%80%a6can-anyone-do-anything-part-2/ A recent UNICEF report says that the number of "AIDS orphans"---children left orphans because their parents have died from AIDS-related diseases---in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to almost double to 20 million by the year 2010. 20 million. To give that huge number some perspective, it is approximately the combined populations of ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/06/24/20-million-orphans-in-africa%e2%80%a6can-anyone-do-anything-part-1/ This topic of adopting older children brings up a related issue: adoption by a single parent. In general, I don't recommend single people adopting babies or small children. Babies and small children are so need-intensive that even two parents can be taxed to their limits, let alone one. Although, again, adoption ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/06/12/what-about-older-children-part-3/ About those older kids…the ones who "age out" of the foster care system with no "forever family"…. I suggest that adopting an older child or teenager would be the perfect midlife project for a couple or single person who reaches his/her/their forties, fifties, or sixties in good health and with financial ... http://aboutadoption.org/2008/06/11/what-about-older-children-part-2/