"African child welfare experts say the number of international adoptions of children from Africa has risen dramatically in recent years" BBC Africa. twitter.com/BBCAfrica/statuses/207407629058834432
Just heard this on the radio today.
I have to say, walking around either Yaya or Junction shopping centres in Nairobi for the past year or so has been an eye opener - you can actually see the reality of this adoption craze playing out in real time. (Do we credit Madonna for this?)
It's a phenomenon that is so noticeable that I (and my friends) can't help commenting on it regularly. I've actually seen bus loads of European couples arriving at these shopping centres, carrying African babies in papooses, eating in fast food restaurants, some arriving and leaving on foot, others just hanging about.
For every European couple dressed in comfortable sandals, pocket blazoned shorts in various hues of khaki, washed out t-shirts and dodgy caps (the sort of standard 'traveller' outfits that frankly look quite scruffy in what is a rather smart, professional and conservatively dressed Nairobi), sipping latte's or biting into burgers - there are invariably one or two babies in tow.
I am not sure whether there's a big children's home in the area, or perhaps Kilimani and Kileleshwa are just a good places to rent a short term apartment, because as I understand it, overseas couples who are adopting a baby from here, have to be resident in Kenya for six months before they are allowed to take the child out.
I'm not saying I'm pro or against Europeans or Americans adopting African babies - but I'm just saying - it's huge, it's happening.
The diary of a British expat living in Kenya. News, views, debate and a healthy dose of trivia.
Have you visited Ethiopia? I stayed in a hotel that just happened to be next to an orphanage-and Spanish families came for 2 weeks...stayed at the hotel, then left..with a bigger family.
ReplyDeleteI used to help out (very infrequently I have to say) at an orphanage in Kampala-but was unhappy at the fact that I was offered a baby to take home with me...that day. Although, like Kenya, there are SUPPOSED to be restrictions.
It is happening
Kenya has recently opened for international adoption in several countries in Europe. That might be a reason there are suddenly so many new families adoptioning in Nairobi. It is not an easy option for like you said the family has to stay here not only six but mostly up to nine-ten months before the process is finished. Economically it´s not possible for everybody.
ReplyDeleteI do not know if I would call it a craze. You may have noticed that often these are the only children the couples have with them. How wonderful that couples suffering from infertility problems are able to adopt children who are desperately needing parents. I have been into many orphanages, some good and some bad, but nothing compensates for a family who loves and cares for the child. The reality is that with abortions so freely available in first world countries the option of a white baby for a first world couple is just not there.
ReplyDeleteI think adopting a child is a noble thing to do. My only concern with Europeans or non-Africans adopting African babies are cultural issues. I hope the new parents are willing to go an extra mile to make sure the child does not lose touch with the culture they came from. Or at least teaching them about it. Hopefully they are also aware of the existence of prejudice and racism in some of their own countries. They may not have seen it first hand, but they may come face to face with it as the child grows and ventures into society: at school, in the grocery store, work etc.I'm not against it but I hope the adoption agencies counsel them on some of these issues. A lot of parents do make an effort, I read about an Emory University Professor who even learned how to braid hair so he could make sure his daughter's hair always looked nice for school. The daughter was adopted from Ethiopia.
ReplyDeleteBut the real question should be why aren't Africans themselves adopting some of these children? Is it a cost issue or societal and cultural attitudes? Even if abortion is allowed in European or North American societies, I think the real problem is the time it takes to adopt. Sometimes the process takes too long and couples may find an international adoption is more expensive but faster. Also, like you said most couples are carrying infants. I can bet that most people prefer to adopt younger kids. Older children might have gone through a lot already and may face more challenges in assimilating into a new family. This obviously means more competition for the younger babies!