Why Adopt From Ethiopia?

This is another question that we get a lot. First let us say that we know there are many children right here in the US that also need homes. Our hearts go out to them and we would love to one day be able to adopt domestically as well. We took a great deal of time, praying and thinking through this decision, of where we should adopt from first. Time and time again, both individually and as a couple, we kept coming back to Ethiopia. It is such a hard decision because we feel that all children, no matter their birth country, deserve a safe and loving home, and it seems so overwhelming to pick just one child for now. Here are a few of the reasons we decided on Ethiopia:

There are over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone
Last year 1,724 of these children were adopted to the US. That's only .0003 percent.
1 in 10 children there die before their 1st birthday
1 in 6 children die before their 5th birthday
Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school
60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
1/3 of the population survive on less than $1 a day

These statistics are just a small glimpse of the many hardships facing Ethiopians today. The country has been ravished by drought, famine, and HIV/AIDS. Yet the people of Ethiopia continue on, trying to care for their country's children with limited resources and very little help. Adoption is not the answer to the cycle of poverty there. However, we cannot ignore the five million orphans that are waiting for someone to care for them. We are so thankful that we have the opportunity to adopt a child from this incredible country. God is teaching us so much already, and we know that our future son will be more a blessing to us than we will ever be to him. We are quickly learning that "We need Africa more than Africa needs us."



-Heather