Below is an overview of an Ethiopian adoption process from the time AGCI receives your completed dossier and home study.

Dossier Authentication and Translation

AGCI will forward your dossier to the U.S. Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy for authentication. Once processed, AGCI will forward the dossier to our staff in Ethiopia to be translated.

Referral Process

Once the dossier is in Ethiopia, you can wait six to eight months for a referral of a child. Once referred, AGCI will send you referral photos, medical information, and the child's background information, including any known family history. Upon acceptance of referral, AGCI foreign staff will submit your dossier, with the referred child's documentation to the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA).

MOWA Documentation Review

Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) is the branch of the Ethiopian government that reviews all documentation submitted by adoptive parents. MOWA acts on behalf of the referred child to make a recommendation to the federal court of Addis Ababa for the adoption to be finalized.

Federal Court Date

Once MOWA recommends the adoption be finalized, a court appointment is scheduled. At this appointment, the judge can either finalize the adoption or ask for further documentation and set another court date. Once the adoption is finalized, the court decree, new birth certificate, and passport are issued, and you can travel.

Travel

You should be ready to travel within two to four months after accepting a referral. One parent is required to travel and the in-country stay in Ethiopia is five to seven days. During this time, you will complete the U.S. Embassy immigration appointment for the adopted child, which is necessary to bring the child to the United States. AGCI in-country staff will accompany you throughout your entire stay in Ethiopia.

Post-Adoption Reports

In Ethiopia, an adoption is finalized before entrance into the United States. Upon arrival, post-adoption reports are due at three, six, and 12 months on the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy appointment date. After the first year, family authored self reports are due every year until the child reaches 18 years of age.

To request a complete list of AGCI requirements, please email info@allgodschildren.org.

Ethiopia is a country beset by years of war, severe drought, and epidemics, and crippled economically and socially. One of the oldest countries in the world, Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous nation.

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Orphan Statistics

An estimated five million children are orphaned in Ethiopia

Adoption Trend

Immigrant visas issued to US citizens

Climate

The most pleasant time to visit Ethiopia is between October and May, while June to September is the rainy season.

Government

Federal Republic

Population

74,777,981 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Life Expectancy

52 years

Religion

Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8%

Language

Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

Currency

Official Ethiopian currency is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB).

Photos of the Country

http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Ethiopia/Photos

Jones Family

Ohio

It can be very overwhelming choosing an adoption agency. We were overwhelmed at the beginning, but AGCI kept coming back as the best choice for us. My husband has a co-worker whose daughter has adopted two children from Guatemala through AGCI, and one afternoon I called her and talked to her for probably an hour… At that point, my mind was made up! The other agencies just didn't give me that feeling.

One thing I liked in particular about AGCI’s Ethiopia program was Hannah’s Hope. I love that I could go online and see a picture of what my daughter’s home would be until we would come for her. I feel like the staff there is wonderful and will do whatever they can for my child until I am able to come take over. I would say at this point, our adoption will take about 11 to 12 months to complete, so we will most likely travel in April or May.

Booker Family

Pennsylvania

I am actually in Ethiopia right now picking up my daughter. It has been a wonderful experience and AGCI has been incredible. I would totally recommend them to anyone.

Barnett Family

Washington

We HIGHLY recommend AGCI and have been so pleased with their Ethiopia program. The staff is wonderful to work with and everything with our adoption has gone completely smooth! If you buckle down and get all that paperwork done… the rest is easy!

Garrison Family

Michigan www.holdingfasttoyou.blogspot.com

My husband and I loved AGCI and still do. I probably hear from the staff from AGCI at least every other month. My phone calls are always returned and my emails are usually responded to within hours. Their home, Hannah’s Hope in Ethiopia is wonderful and they are a God fearing bunch. My daughter knew about Jesus while in Ethiopia and they read to the children from the Bible, taught them songs and gave them His Hope. My husband is planning a mission trip to Ethiopia and we will surely hook up with AGCI. We also plan to Sponsor Hannah’s Hope in Ethiopia and possibly Guatemala. That is how much we believe in this organization.

Lockhart Family

Montana www.laidonourhearts.blogspot.com

If you choose AGCI I can tell you that you won’t regret it! We are leaving in December to pick up our little girl and they have been so helpful every step of the way. I wish you many blessings on your adoption journey; it truly is an amazing gift!!!!

Schaffer Family

Illinois www.babyhawkeye.blogspot.com

We made our decision to use AGCI in May. We are currently on the waiting list to receive the referral of a baby boy that we will have the privilege of calling our own. We have been extremely pleased so far with the process through AGCI. The staff called every Monday to check in with us during the dossier process even though the dossier packet that they provided made things very clear and left few questions remaining.

AGCI was very supportive during the paperwork process, and they are very prompt when returning phone calls/emails. We assume things will continue to go as smoothly throughout the rest of the process.

Our initial impression of AGCI was that they are a very family oriented agency. It was evident to us that their staff is Christ-centered and passionate about what they do, and they have continued to prove this to be true. I don’t feel like “just another family”…rather we feel part of the AGCI family.

Kudwa Family

Michigan

We had a wonderful experience with our Ethiopian adoption through AGCI. We also adopted our son from Kazakhstan through AGCI. At this time, Ethiopia seems very open to Americans adopting and seem to make the process go along fairly quickly. Our daughter from Ethiopia came home Aug 2007. She is doing great!

Northrup Family

Colorado

AGCI is a wonderful agency, and we are now in the waiting process of our adoption. They’ve kept us very informed, they are very prompt in returning emails and phone calls. I was born in a different country and did not have my original birth certificate, AGCI pointed me in the right direction with an agency that was able to help me, and within one week I had the necessary documents I needed.

I’ve also known of someone who went to Hannah’s Hope in Ethiopia and said that it’s the best orphanage they've seen as a social worker.

Morby Family

New Hampshire

We were very happy with AGCI. We got in at the start of the Ethiopia program (I think we were the 10th family in and the 3rd to get their children). We adopted a sibling group, Matt 6 years old and Abigail 11 years old. We felt AGCI was very honest and open and we were very impressed with Almaz who runs Hannah’s Hope in Addis.

Oglesby Family

Washington www.babyoglesby.blogspot.com

My husband and I are adopting from Ethiopia though All God’s Children. We have accepted our referral and are waiting for travel dates. The entire process has been very smooth and well organized. I am very appreciative that at each step of the process we have been given detail. The staff has been amazing, very informative and easy to reach either by email or phone.

Redman Family

Washington www.redmansjourney.blogspot.com

It’s been a wonderful and amazing journey. Well, I only have absolutely great things to say about AGCI!! They’re very professional, personable, etc… I felt that there weren’t any hidden fees and they were always easy and available to contact to ask questions, etc…

Hernandez Family

Tennessee

We brought our daughter home from Ethiopia on April 20, 2007. We received our referral on Valentine’s Day of 2007 (such a lovely surprise on the day meant for love)! Our process went very smoothly and our baby came home at just 5 months of age! She is sweet, gorgeous, and healthy, and we are head over heels in love with her, as are her big brothers.

This was our third adoption through AGCI. We have done three separate adoptions with them and would not even have considered looking into another agency based on our experiences with them. The first time we adopted from Guatemala, and we researched dozens of agencies, but just when I felt like my head would explode, I finally said to God, “okay, this is your path…I’m gonna let you do the leading,” and that is when we found AGCI. When we decided to adopt our second son from Guatemala, we didn’t even think about it. We just called AGCI and said, “let's do it again!” They are the most wonderful people who are truly doing God’s work; they have very good communication and complete integrity.

Then we felt led to adopt again and found out that AGCI was starting an Ethiopia program. We didn’t hesitate to jump on board, even though it was a brand new program. That is how much we love and trust the staff of AGCI. We are honored to be their first family to go to Ethiopia and we couldn’t be more thankful to God for leading us to our children through AGCI.

We feel so completely blessed to have built our family and brought home three amazing children through AGCI. I never dreamed that God would have another child for us all the way across the globe, but I am grateful beyond words to Him for allowing us to parent this beautiful girl. I only wish we could have brought home more of those amazing children. I am thankful that God has placed AGCI in Ethiopia for these children.