Ghana Programme

Overview

Ghana is a beautiful country about the size of Oregon, situated in the heart of West Africa. Ghanaian people feel a great responsibility to be friendly and welcoming to visitors of their country. Foreigners are greeted with “Akwaaba! You are welcome!“ Ghana is one of the most stable countries in Africa. Unfortunately the economy has struggled and, like most African countries, the majority of people live in poverty. 45% of Ghana’s people live on less than $1 per day, and up to 60% of Ghana’s children are involved in child labor or child slavery. UNICEF estimates that there are 1,000,000 orphans in Ghana. Traditionally the extended family would take on orphaned family members. But in today’s Ghana many children are not able to remain with their biological families. AAI’s Ghana program began in 2007. Ghana families should be flexible and have a pioneering attitude that will help to pave the way for future families when unforeseen delays or changes in the process occur.

Available Children

Ghana Social Welfare prefers to place children through domestic adoptions, but when no Ghanaian family can be located for an adoptable child, they may be placed with an international family. Babies 0-36 months may be in need of adoption from time to time, but this is not an “infant/toddler program.” The large majority of children available for adoption are age 3 and up. There are many sibling sets available. HIV+ children may be adopted from Ghana. There is a great need for families who will adopt children 6 years old and older. Most all children in Ghana have at least some English skills by the time they are adopted (many with moderate English). Children adopted through our program may reside in foster homes or children’s homes in any region within Ghana.

Parent Eligibility

Ghanaian law stipulates that adoptive parents should be married and between 25-50 years old. Single parents may not adopt at this time. Parents must be 25 years old and at least 21 years older than the child(ren) they intend to adopt. Couples where one parent is over 50 may be given permission to adopt on a case by case basis (Ghana desires the other parent to be no more than 43). Families with up to 5 children may adopt, but smaller families are preferred by Ghana Social Welfare. The family size limit is sometimes waived when the family wishes to adopt children with permanent special needs (such as HIV, limb difference, blindness, or Hep B). Parents with health issues and disabilities may adopt as long as your doctor will support your decision to adopt. Previous divorce is allowed.

Process

Parents will first obtain an approved homestudy and collect a simple dossier of supporting documents. AAI will introduce families to children who have been made available for international adoption, but Social Welfare will make all official matches between parents and children after they have reviewed parent and child documentation (usually a month or so before court). Social Welfare will then prepare a report on the child and adoptive family, and gain final permission from any biological family for the adoption. Both parents will travel to Ghana to appear in court. The child’s biological family is also required to appear in court. Depending on the region of the child’s adoption, parents will either file immigration documents at the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana or at their local USCIS office. After immigration paperwork has been approved we will represent the adoptive family at the US Embassy in Ghana in order to gain the US visa. Families may then travel back to Ghana to receive their child, or can arrange for AAI to escort their child to the U.S. The process from introduction to a child to immigrant visa typically takes 6-8 months.

Child Introduction

Information includes at least one photo and all available social and medical information. Children are tested for HIV, Hep B, sickle cell, and TB before introduction. Waiting child information may be shared with homestudy-complete families with an application on file with AAI. The Department of Social Welfare in Ghana makes all official referrals to adoptive parents.

Travel

Families will make an (estimated) 2-3 week trip in order to appear in court and file US immigration documents. Approximately 2-3 months later (after visa issuance) the family can travel back to escort their child to the United States, or can arrange for AAI to escort the child to the United States.

Post-Placement

AAI requires adoptive families to present 3 social worker prepared post-placement reports at 1, 3, and 6 months after placement. Family written reports (and photos) will be required at six months and annually thereafter until the child is 18 years old. If you receive a “2 Year Interim Adoption” from Ghana, you will be required to submit a Social Worker report after 2 years, so that a full and final adoption decree can be issued in Ghana. Ghana reserves the right to require parents travel back to Ghana to receive a “Full and Final” adoption decree after the two year period. However, at this time, that process may be completed by proxy (without travel).

Humanitarian Support

AAI supports Ghana'’s children and families in a number of ways. A significant portion of adoption fees go directly to provide humanitarian support. Primarily, donations are made to NGOs who focus on orphan care and family preservation. Funds are donated to support the following types of programs:

• Food and Medical care for children living in residence of the home.

• Care of infants and toddlers that will be placed for domestic adoption within Ghana.

• Educational Sponsorships for vulnerable children still living with their family.

• Sponsorships to cover the cost of medical care for persons living with HIV/AIDS or other chronic diseases.

• School uniforms and books for low income students.

• Seed money for start-up businesses, in order that families can continue to care for their children.

• Funding for families to secure health insurance through Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme.

• Employment opportunities for widows, single mothers, or other at risk women who would like to care for children in foster homes or children’s homes.

• Provide nutritional support for struggling families, children’s homes, and school children.

• Free HIV/AIDS educational seminars throughout Ghana.

• Free child care, nutritional, and first aid seminars within the community.

• Sponsorship for young adults in need of vocational training.

• Assistance to struggling new mothers (hospital bills, vaccinations, infant care education)

GHANA PROGRAM COSTS

Please contact Anita Gillispie at Anita@adoptionadvocates.org or 918-794-6992 for a detailed fee schedule. There are reduced fees for children with HIV.

GHANA PROGRAM FAQs

Can you explain what the program fee pays for?

The program fees for a Ghana adoption include, but are not limited to: the paperwork needed for adoption (birth certificate, death certificates, court declarations, etc.); the attorney fee; court filing; in-country and international communication and transportation for AAI representatives; humanitarian support (as described above); your child‚s passport; and employee salaries. You may find that our program fees are higher than other programs. We ask that you compare the services and benefits between programs. This is largely because we do not simply cover the cost of adoption and give a small donation as humanitarian aid. A significant portion of fees go to help PRESERVE families in Ghana so that they do not need to relinquish their children for adoption.

What is AAI's role in our adoption?

Adoptive parents should be aware that the only entity with the authority to place Ghanaian children for adoption is the Department of Social Welfare. AAI is not an official entity in Ghana, and cannot be. Our role is to educate parents about the process; assist parents in collecting the dossier of documents needed for court; assist parents with travel; assist parents with all US immigration procedures; and to ensure that only the most ethical individuals play any role in your adoption. While independent adoptions are allowed in Ghana, it is our opinion that it is very difficult for an American to complete a Ghanaian adoption without knowledge of how to avoid pitfalls of corruption that are common in the country.

Who works on our adoption in Ghana?

Social Welfare has made it clear that they do not wish for any adoption agency hire people for the sole purpose of adoption work. We have long-standing relationships with individuals in Ghana who represent our families ethically and legally. These individuals do not only work on adoption, but are also heavily involved in other humanitarian work throughout the country.

Why are there so few babies and toddlers in your program?

We find that in Ghana (especially in the south) mothers tend to care for the children as long as they can successfully breastfeed them. This means that, in general, children can maintain a moderate nutritional status until they are 2-3 years old. Also, there is an active domestic adoption program in Ghana for healthy infants. As much as possible we want to support the domestic adoption program in Ghana. If a child can be adopted within Ghana, we support Social Welfare’s decision not to place that child for international adoption. We have been surprised by the unusually low number of infants and toddlers, and are not completely sure of all the factors involved, but these are the two factors that we know play a part.

Why are sibling sets so common in this program?

As in most African countries, it is common for Ghanaian women to have many children, from the time they are very young until the time when they are quite old to carry a child. In some cases biological family chooses for an entire sibling set to be placed for adoption, and in other cases they may choose for only 2 or 3 of a large sibling group to be adopted. It is our goal to place sibling sets together, no matter how large, as long as Social Welfare approves. Sibling sets are only separated if a parent or Social Welfare demands it.

I want to adopt only one child. Will that affect my wait time?

At any given time there may be more sibling sets or more single children available for adoption. Choosing to adopt one child will not usually affect wait time in any significant way.

Are the ages of the kids accurate?

In most cases the biological family may have a general idea of the child‚s age, but not the actual birth date. Our representatives, the biological family, social welfare, and the physician all work together to assign an age whenever a child’s birth date is not known. Because this is not an exact science families need to be aware that the child’s actual age may be older or younger than assigned, despite our best efforts to give an accurate birth date. AAI would never knowingly “age down” a child.

What’s up with all of the Ghanaian names I keep hearing?

Ghanaian names are beautiful! It’s not unusual for kids to come to us with names that are not typical in the west. We’ve seen Bright, King, Prince, Queenstar, Promise, Wise, Gifty, and many other names that are adjectives or character traits. We also see uncommon Bible names like Enoch (pronounced with a short e sound), Ebenezer, Ishmael, and Elias. Most children in the South are given a “Christian” (aka “western’ name) along with a tribal name (usually associated with the day of the week they were born). Many children in the North are given their father’s first name as their last name. Some of the children are given nicknames or terms of endearment like “Nana” (little prince) or “Maa” (little lady).

What’s the weather/climate like in Ghana?

Ghana is HOT! Ghana is a tropical country lying just north of the equator. The rainy season lasts from April to October in northern Ghana and from April to June and again from September to October in the south. Temperatures range from about 70ºF to over 100ºF. Humidity can be very high in the south, but more moderate-to-dry in the North. In most areas the temperatures are highest in March and lowest in August, after the rains. Variations between day and night temperatures are small.

What are the predominant languages in Ghana?

Around 80 languages are spoken in Ghana-a country the size of Oregon. The official language is English, although in reality English is usually the second or third language learned by Ghanaians. The first language a Ghanaian learns is their own tribal language. The second language learned is usually Twi--the most predominant tribal language in the country. When a child enters into school (or at around age 3) English is introduced. As adults, most Ghanaians speak at least 3 languages semi-fluently.

Where do most of the children in the AAI program come from?

The children in our program can come from any region in Ghana, but most often come from the regions of Greater Accra, Central Region, Volta Region, or Upper East Region. The children come from a variety of circumstances. They may be placed in care by Social Welfare, directly by a biological family member (with Social Welfare‚s involvement), or by a guardian that took the child off of the street.

I’m a single woman. Can I get special approval to adopt from Ghana?

Almost always, no. Social Welfare in Accra is extremely biased against single adoptions. If the single woman has extensive history with Ghana (has lived there, is Ghanaian, etc.), or if the single woman has an already established relationship with an older or special needs child, she MAY be given permission to adopt. However, even single women with these things in their favor may not be granted permission. Although a few single adoptions are allowed, AAI cannot take single woman applications at this time.

We are a couple over 50 years old. Can we get special approval to adopt?

If both of you are 50, no. If one parent is over 50 and the other is 7-20 years younger, we can try. In some circumstances we may be able to get special approval for you to adopt—if you are interested in adopting HIV+ children, a single child over 10, or a sibling set over 6 years of age. We do not believe it will be possible to gain special permission for couples where one or both are over 60 years.

We are a family with over 5 children in our home. Can we adopt?

Possibly. If your family is hoping to adopt a child (or children) over 6 with permanent special needs (HIV, Hep B, blindness, limb difference), we can request special permission from Social Welfare to proceed with an adoption. Also, if your family is open to adopting a large sibling group (at least 3 children), Social Welfare may allow you to adopt. It helps if you already have adopted children in the home, especially if you already have adopted African/Ghanaian children.

What do Ghanaians think about international adoption?

Most Ghanaian appear to be in favor of international adoption when the child is not likely to ever be adopted in Ghana. Our families have not experienced many negative reactions when walking around with their children while in Ghana. In fact, many people are very complimentary of Americans who adopt Ghanaian children. However, Ghana is a country that is highly concerned about the risk of child-trafficking (for good reason). There are some Ghanaians (especially the more well-to-do crowd) that are concerned that children could be taken out of Ghana under the guise of adoption when in fact they are being used as slaves (or worse) after they leave the country. For this reason it is extremely important for Ghana Social Welfare and other officials to see post-placement reports of the children once home.

Is Ghana safe?

In 2008 Ghana was determined to be the most peaceful nation in Africa according to the Global Peace Index. Ghanaians pride themselves in being “the friendliest people in Africa.” Many will warmly greet you with “Akwaaba—You are Welcome!” Ghanaians go out of their way to provide assistance and support to travelers. You should take the same precautions in Accra as you would in any large US city. It is not recommended that you travel at night because of treacherous driving conditions. And one should be cautious about traveling across the country without a guide. In general our families have felt very safe and comfortable in Ghana. It is a country that enjoys political stability not seen in the rest of the region.

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