A glimmer?

Last week's bad news from Ethiopia was difficult to hear and even harder to process, but there's a tiny glimmer of hope this week.

1. Four new infants were referred earlier this week. These are children not affected by last week's court decision as they do not come from orphanages in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Two of these infants were boys which means (drumroll please) that we moved up two more rungs on the ladder.

2. We were informed today by our adoption agency that on Monday, May 18th the Joint Council on International and Children’s Services will be having a meeting to confirm the extent of the illegal activities and investigations going on in Ethiopia regarding the abandoned children issue in Addis Ababa. The ruling judge will make his decision after hearing the results of this meeting plus ongoing investigations with the local police and input from the Ministry of Women's Affairs. This is potentially good news on two fronts: (a) it appears that decisions are being made quickly; and (b) the issue is being taken seriously which in our minds means that Ethiopia is still committed to international adoption.

So, here's our "good thoughts for the universe" request this week: we are hope, hope, hoping that further investigations do not uncover more problems that could jeopardize the intercountry adoption program in Ethiopia, and that the right decisions are made swiftly for these vulnerable children.

Thank you for all for the positive energy and support!