23 Adopted Ethiopian Children approved to Arrive
Great news for the families who paid up to $20,000 to adopt some children from Ethiopia.
The 23 Ethiopian Children mixed up in the Bankruptcy of a Cambridge Adoption Agency have been ok'd to come, told by Youth Minister Deb Matthews.
Yamana Gold, a Toronto mining company, has given $100,000 to ensure the continued operation of the orphanage where those children are being cared for in Ethiopia. The donation was announced by the trustee handling the bankruptcy.
Rob Eagleson, a spokesperson for the London families that met with Matthews last night, said the mood of the group is positive.
"We are excited. We have hope," Eagleson said.
A critical meeting for the estimated 350 other families affected by the July 14 financial collapse of Imagine Adoption is today with trustees of the company.
"We are going to do everything we possibly can to support a reconstituted agency so all the work that has been done is preserved," said Matthews, noting her ministry has kept the agency's licence intact.
Eagleson said a big factor will be the financial numbers the trustees reveal.
"We are hopeful coming out of tomorrow that Imagine Adoption will be back as strong as it ever was and the families will all have babies home in the very near future," he said.
Matthews has promised that pre-adoption parental home study programs required to meet provincial standards will be transferable to other agencies.
Imagine Adoption was the only one in Ethiopia licensed to arrange adoptions in Ontario, she said. It won't license others here, "but has not pulled the accreditation . . . so it is important that we do nothing to jeopardize that status."
During her recent talk with Jason Kenney, Matthews said the federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister assured her of help.
There were approximately 170 Ontario families that paid up to $20,000 each to adopt youngsters from several countries, mainly Ethiopia.