African Adoption-Burkina Faso

Recently several families have been asking about African countries that are open to adoption.  The best place to start when looking at open counties is the US State Department's website.  On the website you can check the status of the county and any alerts that may be happening and how many children have been adopted from that country.

I'd like to put a little bug in your ear about a country today, Burkina Faso.  A landlocked country in West Africa.  In 1984 Burkina Faso was ranked among the poorest in the world (mind you that was a long time ago, but still ;) ) Burkina Faso is a Hague country so the requirements are a bit different than those of a non Hague but not by much. 

Available children:

Primarily children with special needs are available (HIV, developmental delays, ect) and families willing to adopt older children (over 6)

Eligibility:

Parents between the ages of 30-45 are able to adopt, must be married for at least 5 years, and usually "smaller" families are encouraged but the Social Affairs office will make considerations for larger families as well. 

Process:

Once homestudy is complete, the dossier and homestudy are translated in DC (as other adoptions) and then sent off to Burkina.  Then you are presented a child that matches your requirements, and after you accept or deny, medical appoints and embassy appointments begin.  Families can expect to be in country for roughly 14 days. 

Post Placement:

The Ministry of Social Action requires letters every 6 months for the first 2 years after placement and then annually until the child's 18th birthday. 

So there you go, maybe God will lead to you Burkina Faso ;)