A Canadian couple has been living apart for several months as they try to clear up an unexpected snag in their adoption of two boys from Ghana. According to a March 9 article by Steve Mertl of the Canadian Press, Andrea Bastin and Michael Segal have been working since August 2009 to unravel what Mertl termed "a bureaucratic nightmare."

Ghana's Social Welfare Department had approved an interim adoption and the couple began the paperwork to bring the children to Canada. The requirement included a copy of the mother's death certificate.

That's where things went wrong.

Bastin said the twins' 24-year-old "senior brother'' went to the family's village to get the document but was told he had to go to Accra. There, he paid an official to get the death certificate, which turned out to be invalid. Bastin and Segal said they later learned the bureaucrat had no authority to issue the document, which should have come from local officials in the first place.

The invalid death certificate raised alarms at Canada's high commission in Ghana, which handles visa and immigration files from a dozen African countries. Ghana is a hub for human trafficking, including children taken out of the country.

The couple said Canadian officials refused to provide documents allowing Bastin to take the twins back to Canada until the 44-year-old mother's death was confirmed.

Both Bastin and the boys' older brother obtained copies of the genuine death certificate from officials of the village, along with hospital records confirming how she died and affidavits from relatives saying she was indeed dead.

The boys' father, who Bastin said is in his 70s, also formally gave up his parental rights.

Labels: international, ghana, Canada, paperwork

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When Adreinne and Johan Mellisen traveled from their home in Canada to Sierra Leone, they were simply planning to help out at the local school and the medical clinic. But a month after their arrival, they met Mariama.

In a March 4 article on BCLocalNews.com, Justine Drummond described what happened next:

[Mariama] was 16 weeks old when her aunts brought her to their doorstep.

"They handed me a note which said, "This girls mother is dead,'" Adrienne says. ... "When she came to live with us, she was 11 months and 11 pounds," Johan says.

As they nursed her back to health, the Melissens knew Mariama's chance for survival in Sierra Leone was bleak.

"She didnt have any future," Johan says. It was then the Melissens considered adoption. ...

Mariama was ultimately granted Canadian citizenship, and on Nov. 5, her new parents brought her home for the first time.

Labels: international, orphans, Canada, sierra leone

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Nicolas McCandie Glustien and his wife, first met Kwadwo in the Ghanaian orphanage that was his home. The couple volunteered there for two months, spending much of their time with Kwadwo. They eventually decided to adopt him, and went home to Canada to start the process.

As McCandie Glustien reported in an Oct. 28 article on The Globe and Mail website, things haven't gone smoothly:

Our first requirement was to find an adoption agency willing to work on a pre-identified adoption, which is not the normal route. Imagine Adoption was interested in working with us. Along with their services, the staff provided a lot of support to us in a difficult time, trying to help us navigate numerous hurdles, including the Ghanaian election and change of governments.

Earlier this year, Imagine Adoption filed for bankruptcy numerous families in limbo. Several families agreed to help restructure Imagine to keep it operational, but questions still remain. And while kids on the other side of the world wait for families, families in Canada continuing working to bring their adoptive kids home.

Labels: Canada, adoption_agencies

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Would-be adoptive parents in Canada are hopeful that their adoption plans will be finalized now that a group of families have agreed to help rescue an adoption agency from bankruptcy. The move comes after nearly 200 people met to discuss the fate of the agency, and their pending adoptions.

After the meeting, Christine Starr, chairwoman of Families of Imagine Adoption, told the Winnipeg Free Press that it was "a moving moment ... to see all 189 people present vote in favour of working towards taking the agency out of bankruptcy."

Kids Link International Adoption Agency, which operated under the name Imagine Adoption, went into receivership on July 14, sending hundreds of pending adoptions into limbo. A group of adoptive parents quickly joined forces to find out what their options were and determine their response.

Labels: international, Canada

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Canadian couples who have been dreaming of adopting a child, preparing rooms, buying clothes and making announcements now find themselves in limbo. During the second week of July, the Ontario-based Kids Link International went into receivership.

A July 17 Winnipeg Free Press article provided the following details:

Kids Link operated Imagine Adoption, which organized adoptions from Ethiopia and co-ordinated them in Manitoba with Winnipeg-based Adoption Options. BDO Dunwoody, a bankruptcy trustee, has been assigned to take over Kids Link's files, but nine Manitoba couples and hundreds of other Canadians have no idea what will come of their parenting hopes.

Manitoba's assistant deputy minister of Child and Family Services Carolyn Loeppky said the agency learned of the problems with Kids Link on Monday. The province is expected to take part in a cross-country teleconference next week to see what can be done, she said.

"We know that families are probably anxious right now, and we do feel for them, because this is a very important life decision that families make," she said.
The Province of Alberta has promised to help families there affected by the bankruptcy, but Loeppky said Manitoba is still waiting for information from BDO Dunwoody "to give good advice to Manitoba families."

Kids Link operated an agency called Imagine Adoption, which organized adoptions from Ethiopia. There are currently about 20 adoptions that had been initiated through Kids Link which will now need to be completed through other means. An additional 30 children have been matched with parents as well.

Labels: international, Canada

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The adoption process is always exciting, and there's always a degree of uncertainty about just how it will all turn out. But for Lindsay, a woman from Winnipeg, Canada, the excitement and uncertainty are heightened by her decision to adopt from Kazakhstan.

"[Lindsay] did try to adopt in Canada, but she is single and has been told adopted children mostly go to married couples. She could have a baby naturally but she doesn't want to wait for the right man to come along."

So she's gathered together over $30,000 in cash - as required by the Kazakh government - and has boarded a plane to a country known for its corruption. She hopes to return in a few short weeks to introduce her child to her family and his new home. Source: CBC

Labels: international, Canada

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Several families on Canada's Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) claim that the government's new policies on international adoptions have created unnecessary obstacles and undue stress on families wishing to adopt internationally.

"Four P.E.I. children have been adopted under China's Waiting Child Program... The program arranges the adoption from China of children with minor medical needs... but the P.E.I government now believes it is illegal for the province to allow agencies to match children and families, as was done previously."

Instead, matches must now be made directly between governments, with no third-party involvement. The province cites China's inclusion in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions as its reason. A handful of P.E.I families have formed the P.E.I. Adoption Coalition and are lobbying for the province to overturn its decision.

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Labels: international, China, Canada

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