Merrily's recent Escort Trip--Part 1

AAI continues to offer parents the opportunity to have their child(ren) escorted home from Ethiopia and, for some families, especially now that they are required to travel at least once, it makes the adoption process just a little bit easier!  For the escort, it is a wonderful opportunity to witness a new family forming.  Below is Merrily's reflection on her most recent escort trip.

Check in again next week to see photos of these two children with their new family and their parent's perceptions of receiving their children via escort. 

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Two little ones traveled with me to meet their new family in America when I returned from Ethiopia at the end of September.    Meseret-6 and her little brother Endris-4, in the photo above, have been at Layla House in the kindergarten class.    I first escorted children in 1973, a group of 10 babies from Korea.  There were four other escorts, three were Korean men who didn’t know how to care for babies and Ted.  I knew this would be a piece of cake in comparison.  Since then I have made over 100 escort trips from Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Bulgaria, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia;  it is always an adventure.

We arrived Layla around 7:30pm to pick up the kids. When I arrived the children all pointed at the two travelers, as if they wanted to be sure I took the correct children.   Check-in went smoothly, but the line for passport control took longer.  When we got to the window and the documents were being examined when Endris emphatically said “shintabet,” meaning he needed to use the toilet, right away.  There was no way I could leave the documents at that point and no toilet in sight so I told he would have to wait.  However, there was soon a puddle on the floor, poor little guy. 

Fortunately, I am a frequent flyer and can use the Cloud Nine airport lounge.  We got Endris changed and settled down with juice and snacks to wait for departure time.  The children were getting sleepy so we soon went on out to the gate. Their eyes got big and round when I pointed out the aircraft waiting for us on the runway.   We were allowed to board early and the kids were soon settled with seat belts fastened and tucked in with blankets and pillows.  They slept most of the way to Frankfurt.  

Everything on the trip  was a new adventure but they began to get the hang of screening checks and using elevators.  I don’t like to take kids this age on escalators for obvious reasons.   We did try a moving walkway or two and they loved that!   Again we were able to hang out in the airport lounge and we cleaned up and had breakfast snacks before going to the departure gate and the next leg of their journey. Our documents were carefully checked at this point, even my permission from the family to escort the kids.   Once en route, the kids fell asleep again and when they awoke they played quietly with the toys their parents had sent as well as those that I had brought.   We reviewed their photos albums and named the members of their family.  Shortly before we began the descent they both began quietly crying.  I could only imagine the sad and frightened thoughts they might be having.  I distracted them with a snack and soon we were on the ground.  

The arrival procedure in Chicago usually takes about 45 minutes and when we finished, the luggage was waiting for us and we took it and proceeded through the double doors where new Mom and Dad were waiting.  The kids went right to them.  It was a sweet moment for all.  After a brief chat I left to wait for my flight to Seattle while the parents took the kids to their final destination.    I am always amazed at the faith of these little ones, going with someone they have met only a few times to travel halfway around the world for a new and unknown life.     They have known so much loss and pain but are now welcome members of a new and loving family; it is always miraculous to witness.   Happy lives to Meseret and Endris!!

7 Layla Girls off to Boarding School

This is bittersweet news for all of us at AAI.   Some of our children are "aging out" and will be ineligible to receive visas to come to the U.S. with adoptive parents.  The seven girls in the photo above were just enrolled in a nearby boarding school where they will be able to continue their educations and train for a vocation in Ethiopia with the help and support of the AAI family.  Jessica Alderson accompanied them on their journey and sent us the following post and pictures.  We will be sure to update you all as the girls progress.  On school vacations, they will have opportunities to visit Layla House as well as extended family.  We wish them well!

Over the past few years, many parents and volunteers have met these lovely girls.  We will be offering opportunities to help sponsor their educations and to stay in touch with them.  Stay tuned for details.  If you wish to make a donation now, click here and indicate "boarding school students" in the space provided for your donation designation. 

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As we spent quite a few hours gathering supplies, shopping, and finally packing up the 7 girls, the emotions started running high. Reality came in a huge gust and tears were shed as they (and we) contemplated their new journey. Bittersweet to say the least, the 7 beautiful girls we were preparing to send off to L’esperance School in Akaki (about 40 minutes outside of Addis Ababa) had mixed emotions. Excited to have the opportunity to excel and finish school instead of going back to families or relatives with little to no chance of furthering their educations, all 7 of the girls braced themselves for the next chapter of their lives together. In a way, I guess it’s better that there are quite a few of them to support each other. All of them are close and have grown up, so to speak, in the same household as family for a couple of years of their lives.  Three of the girls leave brothers at Layla House still eligible for adoption and that too, added to the sadness of the moment.  As they said their last goodbyes, we packed up the van with entirely too many bags and belongings (they are so spoiled!) and drove them out to their new dorm and school. Within the gated compound, a couple of school buildings sat amidst a sprawling field, the younger kids’ school building gated off separately from the others, and the compound hosted a decent-sized office and a church for the kids to go to at anytime, a cafeteria, as well as a few other buildings. The boys’ and girls’ dormitories are on opposite ends and in the middle sits a guard to direct and dismiss any of the kids who may wander towards the wrong gender area. As we walked into the dorm area, the hall felt a little empty still as that Monday was move-in day for all of the upcoming years’ students. They all picked a room that housed 8 beds and decided that they would like to be together--rightfully so. They have 1 roommate, Bereket, a super sweet girl that was very gracious and accepting of their room pick. As girls their age started to pour in, the 7 Layla house girls clung together in excitement, shock, sadness, but also with a very small light of hope in them. At Layla, these girls were living a great life (friends, staff and kids that become like family, a clean and sanitary living area, and the comforts of so many things that kids their age and situation lack) and at L’esperance they are required to behave a certain way and take care of themselves like the young adults they now are. It’s going to be a huge change for them but I know that there is a lot of faith for their success and many people praying and continuously supporting them. We can’t thank everyone enough. So for now, keep them in your thoughts and wish them luck on their new endeavor.

AAI's new Uganda Program

AAI is so pleased to be offering adoption services in the country of Uganda and we are actively seeking families for this ‘pilot program.’ Families that agree to be in a pilot program need to be flexible and patient as AAI works out the inevitable “kinks” that arise in any new program, especially in a country that is newly opened to foreign adoption.

Our Uganda coordinator, who has also adopted from that country, is Salem Richards and she provided the following initial description of the program and some photos from her own travels there.

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Uganda is a beautiful country that was once famously called the "Pearl of Africa".  It is also tragically a country of an estimated 2 million orphans. 

This program is open to couples and singles.  One parent must be over age 25 and if married, must be married for more than one year. 

We will be looking for families for children of all ages!   Both boys and girls are in need but there are often more boys than girls available at any particular time.   

Travel is required for at least one parent. We expect one trip of 4-6 weeks or two shorter trips of 7-10 days each. 

 Adoption is becoming more popular in Uganda but is still a fairly new concept for many and we need families who will work with us to pave the way. 

If you are interested in learning more, contact Salem Richards directly at this link.  

 The Nile River

Salem and her family standing on the Equator

 

Street Scene in Kampala, the capitol city