Uganda, located in
East Africa, has been considered “the pearl of Africa”. It is a
green and mountainous country with many lakes and rivers, including
the Nile River and Lake Victoria. They produce many agricultural
products that they are able to export. The national language of
Uganda is English, with major tribal languages of Luganda spoken in
the South and Acholi in the North. Since the national language is
English communicating in country is not a problem.
The need is
great in Uganda and God is moving! Many Christians are responding to
the call of God that He has laid on their hearts, and written in His
Word, to care for orphans. These children are precious in His sight
and need loving Christian families willing to open their hearts and
their homes.
Uganda has been torn apart by
war and corruption for many years. They were colonized by Great
Britain until they achieved independence in 1962. The infamous
dictator Idi Amin was president from 1971-1979, causing over 300,000
deaths among the Ugandan people. Many children were orphaned. Milton
Obote came into power in 1980 bringing more guerilla war and human
rights violations until 1985. In 1986, the current president Yoweri
Museveni finally brought stability and economic growth to the
country. Museveni and his wife have publicly declared Uganda as a
Christian nation and the country is 42% Catholic, 42% Protestant,
13% Muslim, and 3% other religions.
Children in Uganda
have been orphaned mainly due to disease, AIDS and war. There is a
very high risk for children and adults to die from major infectious
disease, such as hepatitis A, bacterial diarrhea and typhoid fever.
The death rate for malaria is extremely high. The adult HIV
prevalence rate is 4.1% and 78,000 adults and children died from
AIDS in 2003. Life expectancy in Uganda is only 52 years old on
average.
The adoption
process is done through the legal court system in Uganda. Families
are granted “legal temporary guardianship” for the purposes of adoption
in the United States.
Eligibility
To adopt from our
Uganda program, couples must be legally married husband and wife for
at least three years.
Married couples must must be over twenty-five
(25) years of age, and at least twenty-one years older than the
child.
The Children
Children available
are from birth to 16 years of age. If the child is over 14 years
old, the child must consent to the adoption.
Travel to
Uganda
Prospective
adoptive parent(s) will travel to Uganda one time. You can expect to
stay in country 3-5 weeks. Both parents must travel for the first
week and then only one parent must remain in country for the
remainder of the time.
Once
approved, the adoption process is generally estimated to take ten
(10) to fifteen (15) months to be completed.
