• There was good news in Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his wife, Zinash Tayachew, were given permission by the court to adopt an orphan from one of the orphanages in the country. 

    The court approved the adoption of the child, named Million, from the Kibebe Tsehay Orphanage. The request to get approval for the adoption was filed to the court on January 22, 2019. The court granted the request on the basis of furthering the best interests of the child. It was a decision that was arrived at basing on the principle of the best interests of the child. 

    The court further said that the child could not give a comment since he is under the age of two years. 

    The move has been widely hailed as exemplary, and the court also gave the advice that when people want to adopt children they should follow all the legal procedures. 

    Ethiopia changed its adoption laws as part of its efforts to always act in the best interests of the children. The country recently passed into law a Bill that banned the foreign adoption of children. The law was enacted in order to protect children from foreigners who adopt them, then go on to abuse them. This piece of law came into effect after there had been reports that children were abused by foreigners, and that some of these children would actually die as a result of this abuse. 

    It is from this perspective that people hope adoption in Ethiopia is moving in the right direction. By protecting children from such evils, the country is taking the necessary steps to protect its children. 

    Aselefech Evans, who was adopted to the United State at the age of six, spoke to the BBC in support of the Prime Minister's move. She said that her initial reaction after the PM adopted Million was that Ethiopia was moving in the right direction. She said that it is important for children to remain in the country of their origin so that they can be immersed and be conversant with their culture.

    For her, adoption was a positive experience, but this is always not the case for some. This is due to the fact that when it comes to foreign adoption, a child is alienated from their origins; being thrust into racially isolated communities. She said that with foreign adoption there is always that dilemma of raising a child in a place where no one looks like that child.

    Foreign adoptions can be precarious, as often times corruption can take place between the families. So some children become prone to the abuse that has been mentioned before. 

    Hence banning foreign adoption is being hailed, and after the Prime Minister's moves, there is now a solid example to follow.

    Credits

    Header Image: Ethiopia News Agency