America World Adoption News

Staff Spotlight: Ethiopia Referral and Medical Director – Furtuna

Furtuna is our Ethiopia Referral and Medical Director, and we are so glad to have her as part of the team at America World! She is a major agent in running the program in Ethiopia and managing in-country logistics. Furtuna began working for America World as a nurse and the Transitional Home director in 2007, and transitioned to her current role in 2009. In this role, Furtuna coordinates children’s labs, x-rays, referral medical reports, and collaborates with our Transition Home pediatrician and the referral medical doctor. Furtuna also works with orphanages and America World corporate staff on the paperwork pertaining to children that have been referred to America World, overseeing that process from start to finish.

Furtuna remembers back to 2007 when she was praying for God to give her confirmation that He wanted her to work for America World, “It was the little new cribs in AWAA’s new Transitional home, ready for babies, which took my breath away…those little cribs were my confirmation. Since then I have been honored to serve many little beings and showered with their amazing love. Just a hug and smile from one little boy or girl is fuel for me to keep going during busy or stressful times.”

In Furtuna’s first role as a nurse, her favorite moments were caring for malnourished babies and seeing them thrive each day. “There were many babies who it seemed were dying when we received them, but they survived with God’s power and proper care. This has caused me to always have a strong faith in God for the survival of a child, even if the condition may not seem so. I’m honored to be a witness of God’s work though these childrens’ lives, making the impossible possible”.

One of Furtuna’s favorite parts of her current role is seeing special needs or older children matched with a family. “It is difficult and often a long wait, until an older child is matched with a family. They often ask me if they have been matched with a family who can adopt them. It is sad for me to tell the children to wait and so I feel very happy for an older child when I see him/her filled with joy whenever they hear the news of being matched with a family. I thank God for such an opportunity to participate in His great work in the lives of many children and I have been blessed working for America World.”

We are so thankful for the work Furtuna does and her heart for the children she serves!

Ethiopia Family Day

 

AW Staff with the pastor and his wife

 

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of joining a local Ethiopian church to celebrate adoptive families and the Ethiopian culture. Families from as far as North Carolina and Pittsburgh came to Springfield, VA to fellowship together.

We enjoyed a delicious traditional meal consisting of Ethiopia's national dish, wat (a thick stew), injera (a thin, spongy bread used to pick up your food), and other dishes containing lentils, greens, beets, and more delicious flavors.

 

Traditional meal - very colorful

 

 

Injera

After the meal, the church put on a fashion show, with most of their members wearing traditional dress. Each outfit was explained, and features of the clothing were pointed out, such as the hand-embroidered crosses on many fabrics. We saw a large variety of clothing- casual, formal, for young and for old. 

 

 

Beautiful traditional dresses

 

 

Colorful head wrap

One of the most definitive parts of Ethiopian culture is the coffee ceremony. Ethiopia is believed to be the birthplace of coffee! Families, neighbors, and friends can spend hours together during the ceremony. Raw coffee beans are roasted, creating a delicious aroma, and then ground and boiled over water. 

 

 

Let us have coffee!

 

There were also stations for learning how to write your name in Amharic, a hair braiding room, traditional Ethiopian games for the kids, crafts, and a mini museum of Ethiopian artifacts and items from the church member's homes. 

 

Colors of the Ethiopian flag

 

 

The Ethiopian ladies braided the girls' hair and offered haircare tips

 

 

Traditional game, similar to "human tug of war"

 

We are truly grateful to Grace Ethiopian Church and their kindness to our staff and each of the adoptive families that attended this wonderful event. 

Ethiopia Family Day

We are looking forward to joining a local (to the DC area) Ethiopian church for a celebration of families! Next Saturday, May 18, you are invited to Ethiopia Family Day at Grace Ethiopian Church in Springfield, VA from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. See details below. We hope you can join us! Please RSVP to Deborah Yearwood. 

HIV Adoption Advocacy

America World has been privileged to partner with many families over the past several years who have adopted children with HIV from our Ethiopia program. HIV adoption opportunities could be available in our Ethiopia, China, India, and Kenya programs. If there are any future advocacy opportunities for waiting children with HIV in our Haiti, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Honduras and Ukraine programs, we will keep clients and prospective families informed of these details.

Recently the India and Kenya adoption programs have also begun to offer HIV adoption opportunities for families. We cannot guarantee any specific referral for a family in these programs until the approved home study has been received and we can then see what referrals are available for adoption at that time. However, there is currently no waiting list for families in the Kenya or India program for an HIV adoption. Families who may be interested in learning more about these adoption opportunities can contact us.

There are many outstanding resources for parents who want to learn more about caring for a child with HIV.  Some of the resources include the websites and nonprofit groups Positively Orphaned, Project Hopeful, and the AWAA HIV educational manual.

We are committed to educating and equipping parents for these adoptions and for advocating for these children around the world. Please join us in prayer for children with HIV waiting for their forever families, and for those families who are training and equipping themselves to bring one of these children into their home.

New Transition Home for Older Children

In follow up to our recent post noting our excitement about God’s provision for a new Transition Home 2, we want to share some pictures of the new home and the move.

We are thrilled to have more space for the children and are thankful to our in-country staff for the great effort put forth to make this move possible. Please keep our staff in your prayers as we work to organize and decorate the home to make it a warm and safe environment for the children.

God Bless,

--Ethiopia Program Staff

Gratitude for God’s Provision

America World has much to be thankful for as God has blessed our agency tremendously throughout the years. The Ethiopia program is elated to announce that our Transition Home 2 (older child transition home) is being relocated to a better location and building. We have been searching for a new space that will better accommodate the children, and God has provided for us once again. 

The new TH2 has space for more children to reside, and also shares a fence with our younger children’s Transition Home, which is very convenient for our children and staff. The children are very excited for the move as the new Transition Home 2 has a bigger outdoor area to play and a garden for the kids.

We expect to be moved in the home in the upcoming weeks and will share pictures once we are settled in.

America World is very grateful for God’s continual provision in the many details of our adoption programs. We hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

If you would like to donate towards the renovation and decoration of this home, please contact our Ethiopia program at: Ethiopia@awaa.org.

--Ethiopia Program Staff

Welcoming Angels Winter Hosting Program

America World has officially begun recruiting host families for our Winter 2012/2013 Welcoming Angels Hosting Program. Recruiting will continue through October 15. We are looking for advocacy and adoption minded families to host older orphaned children from Ethiopia for 4 weeks during December 2012 and January 2013. At this time, interested families must be willing to host children, mostly boys, ages 10-15 and sibling sets with boys and girls between 10-15 years old. 

For information on the hosting program and answers to frequently asked questions, please read the Welcoming Angels FAQs.

The cost to host a child is $1,800 plus the child’s airfare. The cost includes social work services, training, program fees, travel documents/visas for the children, medical evaluations of the children prior to participation in the program, etc. Airfare cost can range from $1,300 - $2,000. Group airfare will be purchased to keep costs as low as possible.  Fundraising is encouraged.

For more information on how to become a host family or to inquire about hosting in your state, please contact Michelle Reed, Welcoming Angels Hosting Program Director at Michelle.Reed@awaa.org.

Summer in Ethiopia

This summer, America World has been blessed to have a talented artist volunteering at our transition home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The children in our care were able to attend a summer art camp where they were able to enjoy learning how to paint and practicing painting. During her time in Ethiopia, Tori has also blessed the transition home and local orphanages with many colorful hand-painted murals. We are thankful for all who continually give their time, talents, and other resources to bless children in Ethiopia. Please join us in thanking and praising God for his provision. 

(click any photo to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hosting Children En Route to the U.S.

America World is pleased to announce that five children are en route to Montana from Ethiopia to participate in a hosting program done in collaboration with Sacred Portion.  This is America World’s second hosting group from Ethiopia.  The children will be living with American families, allowing them to experience life in the United States, while also offering parents a better understanding of older child adoption.  When the month concludes, the children will return to Ethiopia, and our hope is that they will be adopted by a family in the near future.  Thank you for your prayers over these children and their hosting families over the coming month!

Embrace International Team in Ethiopia

As we shared earlier, we are excited to have a volunteer team of Occupational Therapists from Embrace International conducting trainings for our staff in Ethiopia and local orphanages. The team has already been a huge blessing and also has posted many updates about their trip to their blog, which you can read here and follow along during their time in Ethiopia.
Please join us in praying for the team as they share their skills and expertise with transition home and local orphanage staff in Ethiopia this week.