Registered: 12/13/05
Posts: 358 | | | 10/02/09 at 08:52 AM | #1 |
| Hi all,
I haven't posted on here in quite awhile. We are one of the "oldie" families... my husband and I brought our son Ben (Bekalu) home from ET through CHSFS back in Feb. 2006 (he was five then... just turned nine!!!)
The reason for my post is that my husband and I just (two weeks ago) adopted a baby boy, who was adopted from Ethiopia and then disrupted by his first adoptive family because of him having severe special needs that they were not made aware of or were prepared for. (The first adoptive family did not adopt through CHSFS or with AAI, who I work for).
Our Noah Biruk is an absolute joy and we are having SO much fun having a baby again!!
Anyway, on his initial referral paperwork, it states that he was born in Hadero Tunto and was first in an orphanage down south that is just abbreviated as BCHA. I believe this stands for Bethzatha Children's Home Association.
I found reference to this orphanage in one post on the forum, and I was curious if anyone has any info about this place at all? Anyone know where it is exactly? Anyone have pictures? We would be grateful for any info you might have.
Thanks!!
__________________
Best,
Erin
Adoption Coordinator for HIV+ children for Adoption Advocates International
Happy, blessed mom to 12!
http://fullhousehandshearts.typepad.com | |
MLadopts
Registered: 11/13/07
Posts: 835 | | | 10/02/09 at 10:31 AM | #2 |
| Erin, congratulations on your new addition! How very exciting for you!
Tunto is a village maybe some 30 km west/northwest of the town of Hadero (look for the maps that Jonathan and Tony, I think, have posted here... you'll sort of see Hadero on, IIRC, a pink road heading east-west... continue west to Tunto). It's on the road to Mudulla--a graded road, accessible from the Addis-Hossana road.
Alas, it is a really food-insecure area. MSF had a feeding center in Tunto last summer and has some really hard to take images of the need there. This USAID report for the current season also singles out Hadero Tunto as one of the most troubled spots right now:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADO393.pdf
Bethzatha is a former name of the orphanage in Hossana that CHSFS funds at least in part, and where, it seems, the overwhelming majority of CHSFS children are from. It is now called Mussie. When I was in Hossana, absolutely nobody knew of an orphanage called Bethzatha, though they were all familiar with CHSFS and understood Mussey to equal CHSFS.
Bethzatha is, however, a common name and could also refer to a totally different orphanage. If it is, in fact, the CHSFS orphanage in Hossana, there are pictures of the exterior floating around blogs somewhere. In summer of 08, they stoppped allowing adoptive parents to enter the interior for reasons I find completely unconvincing, but CHSFS families still visit the exterior. If you go to Hossana, it wouldn't be hard to find.
__________________
ML
First-time parent
Dossier accepted 11/9/07
Referral 10/7/08
Court approval 12/16/08
Birth certificate 12/29/08
Travel 1/22/09 | |
Bessrny
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1,660 | | | 10/02/09 at 11:31 AM | #3 |
| EDIT: SEE "EDIT" AT END OF POST PLEASE.
I could have sworn -- no, I am quite sure -- that the care center we visited in Hosanna (before going on to the CHSFS office/HQ in Hosanna, for the birth-family meetings) was called Bethzatha. Am I wrong? We weren't allowed pix, but there was a coffee tree in the small front yard, at the right; there were clotheslines strung in the yard; there were small unlighted rooms with cribs and babies in pairs in them; and, at the right immediately after coming in the front door, there was a larger unlighted and unfurnished room with babies and toddlers in various states of distress and grief and hunger crawling all around a mat of the floor with their care takers.
This was June, 2008.
Does anyone else remember being inside Bethzatha?
I'm fairly convinced my memory of the name is correct because I know for sure that I spent a long time googling the name, and came up, eventually, with a hospital in Addis with the same name: Bethzatha. (And at the time of our trip I tried to figure out if there was a connection between the Addis Bethzatha hospital and the place I'd seen in Hosanna. And, in fact, I recall someone -- correctly or incorrectly -- told me that, yes, Bethzatha was an Ethiopian organization that partially funded the place we saw in Hosanna.)
EDIT: yes, I just checked my notes from the trip, and the Hosanna orphanage/care center we visited in june, 2008, was DEFINITELY called Bathzantha. now, whether or not this is physically the same structure as what is now called "Mussie" in Hosanna, I have no idea....
__________________
Bess
East Hampton, NY
Referral: 3/5/08
NETTIE TESFANESH, baby girl, 8 months old
Court date: MADE IT! April 22
Travel Date: May 29th
Home: June 6th, 2008
OFFICIALLY WAITING AGAIN: APRIL 21, 2009 | |
Bessrny
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1,660 | | | 10/02/09 at 11:43 AM | #4 |
| PS: This was a VERY meaningful part of the journey for me, seeing the children in distress, as ours would have been when first coming into care. Very different from meeting the babies in Addis -- after they'd been fed for months, and been under doctors' care for months. I'm sorry to hear parents no longer get the opportunity. And I'm really sorry there has been no explanation of why. (Could it be for disease prevention? Could it be for legal reasons? If there's a good reason, we should be told that reason. Even if the reason is a seemingly "bad" one -- like, they don't want to upset Western parents, or they don't want us to see the conditions there -- i would very much like to hear that reason.)
__________________
Bess
East Hampton, NY
Referral: 3/5/08
NETTIE TESFANESH, baby girl, 8 months old
Court date: MADE IT! April 22
Travel Date: May 29th
Home: June 6th, 2008
OFFICIALLY WAITING AGAIN: APRIL 21, 2009 | |
melanie
Registered: 12/06/05
Posts: 2,388 | | | 10/02/09 at 12:21 PM | #5 |
| Yes, this is the orphanage that we visited one year ago. Sept of '08. We were one of the last groups allowed inside though no pics were allowed. I belive one of the reasons families were no longer allowed to go inside is that families were "reporting back" how many babies, children etc were in care at the present time. I fully admit I was one of those parents. How can you not??? I don't see what the fuss was all about. But what do I know???.....
It is sooooooo sad to me that they don't allow families inside anymore. Perhaps there are other reasons. I hope so because seeing this place was very important to me. both of my children were cared for here. It is part of their story, part of their history...As their mama, I needed to see it...
melanie
__________________
Melanie
wife to John
Sam (7), Drew (5) and Owen (4--home 2-4-06). Referral on May 28th 2008 after waiting
8 months and 8 days for sweet Tesfanesh Faith-6.5 weeks old (now 18 months old)
praying and wondering and thinking about blessing #5......
Court date-July 7th...made it!!
travel sept 10th 2008...
"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called" | |
MLadopts
Registered: 11/13/07
Posts: 835 | | | 10/02/09 at 12:23 PM | #6 |
| Bess, when I asked, we were given two reasons they stopped allowing visits like yours: (1) it is disruptive of the routine for the children; and (2) after some visits in summer 2008, when people were doing the "where are referrals" posts, some people posted that they had seen some children, x number of children, something like that in Bethzatha. So what? CHSFS says that people then called them saying, "I hear there are kids in Hossana, so does that mean referrals are along the way?". Again, I say, so what? Yet CHSFS thought the best response to these calls was NOT the very obvious and easy answer of, "No, not necessarily. Other people may adopt from that orphanage, or those children may or may not be of the age and health range that you are seeking; it's not a direct pipeline. Sorry, but we still don't have any more information on when the next batch will be." Rather, their response was to say "no more visits".
To my mind there is absolutely nothing wrong with mentioning the numbers of children there, or the conditions. If some PAPs misuse that information and get their hopes up, that's their problem.
As to the first rationale, that it is disruptive, that would hold more water. However, given the conditions you describe; and the fact that these are not classrooms where a lesson is being taught, or isolation wards; and that adults routinely see or look at children who are not legally theirs; that it's at most a small number of families for a few minutes each week; and that we didn't hear anything about it being disruptive until the incidents above; well, I just don't buy it.
I think the real reason is to draw a veil over either the conditions there, or the process. Others could draw different conclusions.
__________________
ML
First-time parent
Dossier accepted 11/9/07
Referral 10/7/08
Court approval 12/16/08
Birth certificate 12/29/08
Travel 1/22/09 | |
africamom
Registered: 04/16/09
Posts: 192 | | | 10/02/09 at 01:12 PM | #7 |
| I, like Bess, found this part of the trip to be very moving and important. I am sorry to hear that it has been discontinued, and disappointed to hear the supposed reasons.
I'm attaching photos I took of this center. And, yes, I took photos inside, which I was not supposed to do, but my understanding was that the ban against indoor pictures was to prevent photos being taken of children--you'll notice there are no children in my photos. I'm even more inclined to post them, now that future travelers are unlikely to see inside...
| |
supermomerin9
Registered: 12/13/05
Posts: 358 | | | 10/02/09 at 01:20 PM | #8 |
| Thanks so much everybody! I have found that Bethzatha is a very common name in Ethiopia (and many variations on spelling, etc.) although it seems likely that this is where our Noah Biruk was (he was in an orphanage down south... his paperwork says 7-8 hours from Addis... with the initials BCHA). He was there from Feb. until April 2009. He was not adopted through CHSFS though, so I wonder if other agencies are getting children from there as well?
Anyway, I could not come up with any other orphanage with those initials or anything even similar, so I think it must be it.
Thanks again... especially for the pictures. :)
__________________
Best,
Erin
Adoption Coordinator for HIV+ children for Adoption Advocates International
Happy, blessed mom to 12!
http://fullhousehandshearts.typepad.com | |
Bessrny
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1,660 | | | 10/02/09 at 02:02 PM | #9 |
| It's very interesting, hearing the stated reasons for the ban on parental visits.
I actually, after I posted, thought about it some more -- and thought I could see a valid reason for not allowing groups of adoptive parents in. But this doesn't seem to be the reason given.
Pondering this, I recall that some of the babies and toddlers we saw were, frankly, in states of shock and grief. Some of them -- when we entered, and tried to comfort them, or play with them, or gently re-assure them -- very appropriately responded with howls of fear and alarm. I mean, here they are. Some (all?) have just lost their family. Many are ill, some are malnourished. And these troupes of giant scary white people are tromping in.... Ya know?
It occurs to me that if there were a US non-profit caring for traumatized babies and toddlers, they certainly wouldn't let troupes of strangers in, in big bunches.
Of course, given the circumstances -- international adoption, and all the issues of transparency, etc -- there ARE other concerns to balance against such a concern as the one above. (Would the importance of transparency outweigh some of the fears of upsetting children further?)
But... hmmm.... it doesn't sound like this is one of the explanations given by CHSFS, anyway. Unless.... this is the "disruption" they're talking about? Trying to ease traumatized kids into a scary new life -- horrible, really, without parents -- and the appearance of strangers, however friendly, is a "disruption"?
Hmm.
Ponder.
__________________
Bess
East Hampton, NY
Referral: 3/5/08
NETTIE TESFANESH, baby girl, 8 months old
Court date: MADE IT! April 22
Travel Date: May 29th
Home: June 6th, 2008
OFFICIALLY WAITING AGAIN: APRIL 21, 2009 | |
SusanJohnson
Registered: 12/14/05
Posts: 1,078 | | | 10/02/09 at 02:18 PM | #10 |
| Hi Erin,
Indeed the Bethanza orphanage was housing children for various adoption agencies. I think that was one of the reasons CHSFS was upset about people saying 'there are 20 babies at the Bethanza orphange' because not all of the children were going to the CHSFS care center. I asked about the process when I was there and I was told that the child would go to whichever agency the birth family had approached. If birth family went to the CHSFS office to relinquish their child than that child would be transferred to the the care center for Children's home, but I was told there were other agency offices in the town of Mudulla.
I was allowed to tour the orphanage - it was sad and meager, but I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet my sons nanny's. All I had to do was say my son's name and they were hugging me and saying how much they loved him!!! It is too bad they took that opportunity away from families.
__________________
Susan and Chuck
T(19), B(16), C(13), M 3 1/2(Et-home 12/06),S 2 1/2(Et-home 8/8/08), paperchasing for our 8 year old Ethiopian dauhter - other agency | |
cndmom
Registered: 06/15/08
Posts: 375 | | | 10/02/09 at 02:29 PM | #11 |
| "I asked about the process when I was there and I was told that the child would go to whichever agency the birth family had approached. If birth family went to the CHSFS office to relinquish their child than that child would be transferred to the the care center for Children's home, but I was told there were other agency offices in the town of Mudulla"
Does this mean that it is now legal to relinquish a child directly to an adoption agency? Birth families no longer have to go through an orphanage?
Terri | |
SusanJohnson
Registered: 12/14/05
Posts: 1,078 | | | 10/02/09 at 02:44 PM | #12 |
| (I'm sorry for the confusion I am speaking about what happened in 2008!)I have no idea how the process actually works now. The impression that I got when I was there in 2008 was that when the children came into the orphanage they already knew which facility they would be transferring to. I think it is a new law that children cannot be relinquished directly to Adoption agencies. Isn't that why the children are now not being transferred as quickly to the Children's Home run facility?
__________________
Susan and Chuck
T(19), B(16), C(13), M 3 1/2(Et-home 12/06),S 2 1/2(Et-home 8/8/08), paperchasing for our 8 year old Ethiopian dauhter - other agency | |
cndmom
Registered: 06/15/08
Posts: 375 | | | 10/02/09 at 02:53 PM | #13 |
| I thought it was always the case that it was illegal to relinquish a child directly to an agency. My understanding of the new law was that children had to stay in the orphanage until they had passed court and then go to the children's home, not as soon as they were referred as it was before. From my understanding of that law, that is why children are taking longer to be transferred to the children's home.
I thought that is why all our children's paperwork comes from an orphanage, because all relinquishments had to be to them. Aren't orphanages supposed to be responsible for investigating the cases to ensure that the paperwork is right? I thought that was the way it has always been, which is why I was surprised to hear the birth families were reliquishing directly to an agency.
Terri | |
Kim
Registered: 12/06/05
Posts: 641 | | | 10/02/09 at 03:03 PM | #14 |
| Erin, congratulations! I peeked on your blog, and your son is so cute. Those little cheeks!
__________________
Kim
Charlottesville, Virginia
Son, B., born in Lemu, Ethiopia 12-20-2003
Home 9-9-2006 | |
Bessrny
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1,660 | | | 10/02/09 at 04:08 PM | #15 |
| Erin: Bingo!! I found a business card, among my notes, from a fellow named Samuel Getahun, the general manager of Bethzatha Children's Home Association. I have his phone, email, mailing address. (I can only vaguely recall meeting him. Altho the address on the card is in Addis, I think we actually did meet him in Hosanna. I might be mistaken, but.... a youngish fellow, well-spoken, who showed us around.) . If you want the details, I can give them to you, if you PM me?
PS: Clearly your BCHA is indeed the organization that was at that time running CHSFS's Bethzatha. (Aka, now "Mussie." And... under whose jurisdiction? CHSFS's directly? Confused.)
__________________
Bess
East Hampton, NY
Referral: 3/5/08
NETTIE TESFANESH, baby girl, 8 months old
Court date: MADE IT! April 22
Travel Date: May 29th
Home: June 6th, 2008
OFFICIALLY WAITING AGAIN: APRIL 21, 2009 | |
