Why are there so many children in orphanages in Burundi?
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has recently passed through a genocidal civil war. It is located just south of Rwanda and warfare between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes spilled into Burundi. While Burundi has had a representative democracy since 1993, there is still great poverty and ongoing racial violence leaving many children orphaned. All of these factors have compromised Burundi both economically and socially and have left tens of thousands of children in need. Children are regularly abandoned in maternity hospitals and at orphanages.

 Will my child be a boy or a girl?
Either or both, although more boys are available than girls. Many sibling groups (biological brothers and sisters whose parents are unable to care for them) are available. You only need to compile one dossier even if you adopt siblings, so there is very little additional paperwork to adopt related children.

What are conditions like in the orphanages?
Burundi is a desperately poor country. Orphanage staff provides the best care that they can with very limited resources. Whenever resources are available orphaned children are placed by their orphanage in guardian/foster homes. This is particularly true for orphanage systems run by churches. It is rare that children suffer from deliberate abuse or neglect in orphanages that have an international adoption program, but your donation to the orphanage will help the children have their basic needs met, and to begin improving their lives.

What are the advantages to adopting from Burundi?
Burundi is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Burundi’s adoption program is centralized through the Ministry of Human Rights. All adoptions must be approved by the Ministry through the courts within Burundi. In this way parents can be assured that their child was adopted legally and ethically.

•  Shorter processing times;
• Adoptive families screen dossiers of available children in the United States prior to their adoption trip;
• Both boys and girls are waiting for adoptive families;
• Wide age range of children available, including young infants, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as older school-aged children;
• More than one child can be placed at one time, sibling groups are available;
• No restriction on the number of children already in the household;
• Flexible age and eligibility requirements for families;
• While it may not appeal to all adoptive families, it is occasionally possible to be able to meet the child’s birth family;
• The available children are easily and ethically classifiable as orphans, as defined by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS);
• Provides a rare opportunity for families to help children devastated by the genocidal warfare between the Hutu and the Tutsi tribes.

Due to the economic situation of most birth families, prenatal alcohol exposure is rare so Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effect is unlikely to be seen in Burundi children. Our international adoption partner, Americans Adopting Orphans, offers an optional service that arranges for a medical exam to be performed before your adoption is complete. By having a doctor who works for you, instead of the orphanage, you may obtain a second medical opinion about the overall health of your child. 

Perhaps the most feared risk with an adoption from Burundi is the concern of adopting a child with HIV/AIDS. Every child is thoroughly tested for HIV virus before adoption, so it is very unlikely for a family to adopt an infected child. However a child may test negative for HIV for some months after having been exposed to the disease, so it is a possibility. Families must always understand that any adoption has risk.

There is a tremendous need for children to be adopted. With a history of genocidal warfare and extreme poverty many Burundi children have been literally orphaned, or have been abandoned by impoverished and overwhelmed birth families.

How long does it take to complete an adoption from Burundi?
In most cases it takes about a year to complete an adoption from Burundi. The first four to six months are spent completing your home study, gathering other documents, and preparing them for submission to the Burundi government. You also select the child or children that you wish to adopt, and prepare a request letter. The Burundi government then takes 1 - 2 months to review your dossier and approve you as adoptive parents. About one month after your application is approved, you travel to Burundi. Your stay in Burundi is usually 7 to 14 days, followed by a 3 – 5 day stay in Nairobi, Kenya, where your child receives their visa to enter the United States. Cultural tours of Burundi are available upon request.

What happens once our dossier has been sent to Burundi?
Once your dossier has been compiled and legalized here in the U.S., it is sent to our facilitation team in Burundi. Your dossier is translated, legalized again and then submitted to the Burundi government in the capitol city of Bujumbura. The government reviews your application and approves your requested adoption. A date is set for you to appear in a Burundi court to adopt the child(ren). You complete your adoption in Burundi and go to the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya to obtain your child’s U.S. entry visa. Then homeward bound!

When do we learn about our child?
As families complete their home study and consult with their social worker they develop a profile of the child or children they would like to adopt, and for which they are approved. Once the social worker has made a clinical judgment about the family’s approval, the family will be presented with information about available children.

Photos, available medical and social information, and occasionally short videos are provided. The medical information can be very general and may or may not contain some birth family background information. Families have the option of ordering additional medical or laboratory tests. In most cases children are tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, tuberculosis and venereal disease.

 If a family does not find a child or sibling group that they think is a good match for their family, they may wait for information about additional children. Families are shown available children based on waiting time in the program.  It is anticipated that most families will select children immediately.

Do we travel to Burundi, or is our child brought to us?
Through the years we’ve observed that the vast majority of adoptive parents feel that their adoption trips significantly increased their understanding and appreciation of their child’s birth culture. Traveling to the child’s country to complete the adoption also offer the opportunity for early bonding and attachment between the child and parents and eases the child’s transition into their new family and new life. For these important reasons Americans Adopting Orphans provides adoption assistance within Burundi and does not offer the escorting of children by third parties. For married couples, both parents are required to travel. One spouse may return to the United States immediately after the adoption ceremony. 

 A single trip of about 10 to 20 days is needed to complete an adoption. During that time you will take physical custody of your child, meet with your child’s caretakers to learn about the child’s daily routines, habits and preferences, work on adoption processing, legally adopt your child and squeeze in some local sight seeing and cultural exploration as time allows. 

What is the trip to Burundi like?
Families will initially travel to Nairobi, Kenya, and fly by one of several daily flights to Bujumbura, Burundi. In Bujumbura, over the course of the next 1 – 2 weeks, you will become acquainted with and legally adopt your child. Your family will be accompanied by professional adoption facilitators who we arrange to help your family. Your guides will make official appointments for you, be sure that you get to them on time with all of the paperwork that you need, and that the paperwork you receive is correct. Skilled interpreters will be with you for every official meeting or appointment. During those times between appointments, they will give you an opportunity to bond with your child(ren), sample the culture, taking you to interesting, educational, and even fun places. The adoption process consists of visiting several government offices over several days. Forms need to be filled out, fees paid, questions answered and documents signed. You are normally given custody of your child on arrival. The entire adoption process normally takes a week to 10 days, but can occasionally run a few days longer. The government of the United States recognizes this adoption, although re-adoption when you return to the United States is strongly recommended. 

Burundi is a generally safe country for travel by U.S. citizens.The overall countrywide situation is stable, although there are still occasional flare-ups of racial tension. Families should not leave their hotel at night, and should only travel in the day accompanied by their guide. Solo exploration trips are not recommended. Transportation by air, train and bus is available. Hotel accommodations are good within Bujumbura, with 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts generally available. The 3 star Novotel (part of a famous international chain of hotels) is a reasonably priced choice, if less luxurious than some of the resorts on Lake Tanganyika. Additional tours and safaris are available to families who are interested. Many hotel and store clerks have some English skills, and are very eager to help you. Client families may choose to travel with children they already have, or with other friends and family.

Most mornings are spent processing paperwork, and most afternoons with your child sightseeing or shopping while government officials complete various documents for your adoption. If there is a question about your adoption paperwork, it is generally resolved quickly, frequently without your involvement or your having to try to figure out what is needed next. Soft drinks, diapers, bottled water and other personal supplies are readily available, and can often be delivered to your room by your facilitators for less than you can purchase them by yourself at the hotel gift store. Hotel reservations at substantial discounts can be made for you by our staff in Burundi.

Health facilities are limited in Bujumbura and completely inadequate outside the capital. Although physicians are generally well trained, even the best hospitals in Bujumbura suffer from inadequate facilities, antiquated equipment and shortages of supplies (particularly medicines).

Do we travel in a group?
Probably. Almost all adoption processing is handled in the capitol of Bujumbura. It is easier for adoption officials and the courts to process applications in small groups. This may mean that each family will spend some time waiting for other families to travel to their child’s orphanage, but the shared companionship and expenses make this a preferable choice for most families. Families may chose to travel outside of a group. 

Can we visit the orphanage?
Probably. In many cases the children will be located in or close to Bujumbura. In some cases the children will be in orphanages up to four hours drive from the capitol over sometimes treacherous roads. Families will be apprised of the risks of their travel and will be allowed to choose to travel to their orphanage when safe and practical.

How do the people of Burundi react to Americans adopting their orphans?
Virtually everyone you meet will be curious and supportive. The people of Burundi love children and are saddened that so many children cannot be cared for in their families. At the same time they are grateful that there are adoptive families coming forward to parent the children and unlock their future potential. 

When is our adoption final?
When you adopt a child from Burundi, the adoption is normally complete and final in that country, before your return to the United States.

Where do we go after we have adopted our child?
Once you have adopted your child, you take your child(ren) you visit the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura. They will review and approve your adoption paperwork. From there you travel to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. This is where the U.S. Embassy is located that issues immigration visas for your child to enter the U.S. Your child is still a native of Burundi, traveling under a passport from that country, and needs a visa to enter the U.S. In most circumstances adoption from Burundi by United States citizen parents automatically makes your child a citizen of the United States as soon as you and your child enter the United States. 

 In order to be issued a visa, your child must undergo a physical examination. There are medical facilities and clinics approved by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi for this purpose. Our staff will take you to an appropriate facility. In our experience this examination is very brief and non-invasive. It takes less than an hour (depending on the lines), no blood is drawn and no specimens are required. This examination is mandatory and in addition to any medical examination you requested before your adoption was complete.

 A sealed copy of the physical examination report, photos of your child, proof of your adoptionand all other required documents are then taken to the Embassy.  All of the documents are reviewed, and there may be an interview with an embassy official. If all of the documents are found to be in order, your child is issued a visa to enter the United States. This process can normally be completed in a few days.

Before the trip, you will receive an Instruction Pack which includes (among other things) a list of the documents the embassy officials may want to see and the correct form and wording for these documents. An adoption specialist will go over all of the documents you need to bring with you to Burundi in advance of your trip and be sure that you are ready to go.

What happens when we return to the United States?
Any time you enter a country, you must stop at a customs station. Here they ask if you have anything to declare. Every country has rules about what you may and may not bring on to their soil. The United States is no exception. Anyone who has traveled outside the United States is familiar with this procedure. When returning with an adopted child, you must also stop at the US Immigration Service station at the (air)port of entry before you go to customs. Here, you surrender the sealed Visa envelope to the U.S. Immigration officer. The documents within are then sent to your local U.S. Immigration office. This office should then issue a Certificate of Naturalization.

How much does it cost to adopt from Burundi?
Adoption expenses vary country to country. Your agency fees may include court and legal fees, translation fees, country taxes, ministry fees and other items such as humanitarian aid to the orphanages. Additionally, all travel expenses you incur travelling to Burundi are not included. By completing most of the paperwork, travel and educational process on your own, you can greatly reduce the cost of your adoption.

Do we have to take a lot of cash with us to Burundi?
Generally most of your fees can be wired to Burundi in advance of your trip. Some routine bills can be paid by credit card (Visa only), like hotel charges (if staying at The Novotel or one of the resorts). Kenya Airlines and a limited number of other businesses in Bujumbura may also accept payment by credit card. Some ATMs in Bujumbura take international bank cards or credit cards. You may be able to obtain currency advances against a credit card in some banks and at major hotels, however charges may be high and may take days to clear. You should ensure you have an adequate supply of cash, as travelers’ checks are not generally accepted outside Bujumbura. There are a few banks which can facilitate money transfers through Western Union or American Express in an emergency. Taking a few thousand dollars with you is prudent, but you can complete an adoption with less cash if you plan carefully and understand that you may be inconvenienced by delays at banks if you have additional or unusual expenses. Some adoption trips can take place with short notice, making wiring money impractical. Cash may be safely stored in the vault of major hotels.

Will our child be able to search for her or his birth parents?
Perhaps. Typically, the children are relinquished to the orphanage by destitute or ill birth parents, often a single mother, or the birth parents have died due to illness or ethnic violence. This means that you may be given identifying information and a genetic history about the birth family, or even get to meet them during your adoption trip. Sometimes it is possible to actually meet members of the child’s birth family during the adoption trip. If the child’s parents are deceased family relatives may have cared for the child before the child entered the orphanage. However, if the child has been abandoned, there may be no way to trace the birth parents. Many adoptees do have a very natural desire to search for their birth parents as they grow and become adults. This is an issue that adoptive parents should treat with respect and understanding.