We are the Andersons - a family of three on our way to adopt a baby boy from Ethiopia. This is our second international adoption but our first from Ethiopia. We hope you will enjoy sharing our journey with us.
Interesting Websites
http://www.ahopeforchildren.org
There is No Me Without You: http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/
Why Adopt from Ethiopia?
People ask us all the time about our choice to adopt from Ethiopia.
First and foremost, we feel truly honored to be able to do so and feel grateful that international adoption is allowed in this beautiful country. While many people may consider our child to be lucky, we feel WE are the lucky ones to have this opportunity to bring a child into our lives.
But, there is a sad reality surrounding the need for international adoption in Ethiopia. Simply put, many children are in dire need. And, ultimately, we wanted to go where we were needed the most.
Just consider these facts:
-One in six children die before their fifth birthday
-44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
-60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
-Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
-The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
Ethiopia: An Amazing History
Ethiopia has an amazing history. It is considered by many to be the "cradle of mankind", the birthplace of coffee, and the purported resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
It makes the USA seem like a mere infant in terms of historical relevance!
Here are a few facts to consider:
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world and Africa's second-most populous nation. Ethiopia has yielded some of humanity's oldest traces,making the area a primary factor in the origin and developmental history of humanity,with recent studies claiming the vicinity of present-day Addis Ababa as the point from which human beings migrated around the world.
Human settlement in Ethiopia dates back to prehistoric times. Fossilized remains of the earliest ancestors to the human species, discovered in Ethiopia, have been assigned dates as long ago as 5.9 million years.
Together with Eritrea and the southeastern part of the Red Sea coast of Sudan (Beja lands), it is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru," meaning land of the Gods), whose first mention dates to the twenty-fifth century BC.
Ethiopian dynastic history traditionally began with the reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC.The roots of the Ethiopian state are similarly deep, dating with unbroken continuity to at least the Aksumite Empire (which officially used the name "Ethiopia" in the 4th century) and its predecessor state, D`mt (with early 1st millennium BC roots). After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries known as the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Judges/Princes"), the country was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II, beginning Ethiopia's modern history.
Ethiopia: A Land of 84 Languages
Can you imagine? Here in the US, we have ONE language (and we sometimes complain if people don't speak that ONE language.) How would we ever deal with 84???
Oh,yeah! More pictures! I love Noah's expression in the second picture! So sweet.
ReplyDeleteHow is everyone? Rested? More sitauated?
Rebecca
Wow. It is beautiful! All of your pictures are too cute!
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