Article on Adoption, Sponsorship through WHFC

LOVE CONNECTION: ADOPTED CHILDREN FROM ETHIOPIA MARK ANNIVERSARY
By Emily Dupuis - The Sun Staff


WESTERLY - Dressed in matching red, white and blue striped shirts, Bereket and Tsegaye Janat patiently waited for their mother to cut into a sheet cake decorated with Welcome to America. Then, cake in hand, the two boys scampered to join 15 other children in the backyard of their Trolley Lane home - all visitors celebrating the three-month anniversary of their arrival in the United States with adopted parents, Fouad and Eugenié Janat.

Guests at the informal dinner party included seven children also from the boys' native Ethiopia, now living with families in West Greenwich, South Kingstown, West Warwick and Massachusetts.As the little ones wove about underfoot, current and prospective adoptive parents spoke with special guests - visiting officials from the Ethiopian government and Wide Horizons for Children, Inc., the largest private non-profit adoption agency in the Northeast. In the United States to observe the success of adoptions from their country and to meet with prospective families, they said they like what they have seen.

"The very few lucky enough to come here are getting all the love and affection from their families." said Dr. Tsegaye Berhe, president of Wide Horizons.

Atsede Guta, an official with the nation's ministry of women's affairs, agreed: "They are well adjusted... they are happy looking and enjoying their lives here."

For two of the children - Bereket, 4, and Tsegaye, 10 months - it took around six weeks grow comfortable with life in the United States. Since then, they have been happily embraced not only by their parents, but also by the community.Eugenié said her family has been touched by gestures ranging from donated car seats from a local Toyota dealership to thoughtful staff setting aside books for the boys at the Westerly Public Library.

The Janats traveled in May with five other families to the eastern African nation to bring their sons home.The week-long trip was capped by a "coffee ceremony" - a symbol of closure - during which the boys' orphanage nannies told a story in the Amharic language about each child before giving them to their new families.Eugenié laughed recalling how Tsegaye's nanny remarked, through a translator, how much he resembles Eugenié "in the face and in the belly."

And while the Janats are beginning their new life together, she said they have not forgotten the estimated 5 million orphans who remain in Ethiopia, living on the streets, with extended or foster families or in orphanages."I know for me, (I think) why did my two little boys get plucked?" she said, adding. "My boys are always going to be Ethiopian."The Janats have collected around $600 to donate for infant formula and hope to hold future fundraisers to sponsor children.

But while adoption has generated significant publicity - especially following actress Angelina Jolie's recent adoption of Ethiopian daughter Zahara through Berhe and Wide Horizons - the visiting officials stressed sponsorship takes priority over adoption."We appreciate that even more," said Haddush Halefom, an official from the office of family and children's affairs, which falls under the umbrella of the country's ministry of labor and social affairs. His office primarily renders opinions to the court and consents to adoptions.

Berhe said his agency arranged 89 adoptions last year and 230 sponsorships."This is very little compared to the need of the country," he said, seeking more sponsors willing to donate $360 a year.A sponsor aids an entire family, allows the child to grow up in his or her own country and remains a much more realistic option for most American families to help, he said.Eugenie agreed: "It's for people who can't bring home a child... and because it's such a small organization, you know this is money that is going there."

Guta said sponsorship also goes a long way toward community-based empowerment of women in Ethiopia, where many single women head families as a result of poverty, death and displacement."Many women, they don't have the economic power to feed, to dress and to support their children," she said.All agreed Americans might be more inclined to donate after meeting or hearing of happy children like Bereket and Tsegaye.

For more information, the Waltham, Mass.-based Wide Horizons agency can be reached at (781) 419-0394 or www.whfc.org.edupuis@thewesterlysun.com