Several lower-profile programs are running, if not exactly in a predictable fashion, she said. For example, Haiti, while an “adventure” for adoptive parents, is promising. Many families once in line for China have switched to Vietnam or Ethiopia.
Holt has a new program in Kyrgyzstan, though trail-blazing parents must have a “pioneer spirit,” Susan says. Kazakhstan is an option for families who can spend up to six weeks in the country.
Susan doesn’t expect any of these countries to become as large as Guatemala, China, and Russia once were. Africa has the greatest potential, because the need is so great. She doesn’t envision more Latin American countries signing on. “Wow, with the exception of Colombia, nothing is happening there,” she says.
Still, she does not believe international adoption will end. She sees Hague as a savior, bringing a much-needed “baseline of ethical standards.”
I hope she is right. Maybe more countries like Kazakhstan will open their hearts and their borders for orphaned children they aren’t able to place with domestic families. In my dreams, I imagine a small international adoption program in every country that has orphans, including the United States.
Most of all, I would like to see adoption viewed as a way to give more children the chance to grow up as part of a family, not as a blight on a country unable to take care of its own.
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