Two More Visas Issued

Hello All,

Word came through this week that two more Visas were issued. Hayley Tariqua's was not among them. This information came through an MP's office. Immigration has not yet notified CAFAC (my adoption agency) of the issuances.

Also, for the past 11 months, I have been able to log in to the Canadian Immigration website to get a "file status" on Hayley Tariqua's file. It has been listed as "In Process" for the last year. At some point this will change to "Decision Made" and then I can be fairly sure that the Visa has been issued and that CAFAC will soon be notified of the issuance. However, at this time I am not able to log in to Hayley Tariqua's file status. Logging in requires five pieces of information and I have been successfully logging in for a year. Now my login is refused.

What does that mean? Who knows. One of the families that had their Visa issued this week were able to log in and see "Decision Made." So who knows what that means. I guess it means someone changed something on the file which at least would mean that they are working on it. Always good to look for a positive spin :)

Tisha

New Photo and Growth Information Received

Hello All,

I received an update on Hayley Tarikua's progress along with a new photo. Unfortunately, I cannot post it, but for those of you who are local, I will be happy to show it to you if I run into you. She has a big smile on her face and a doll sitting next to her and she looks happy and healthy.

The update said Hayley Tarikua is 10kg (22 lbs.) and her height is 79cm (31 inches, i.e. 2 ft 7 in.)

Here is the other info that was included:

Food/ Formula/Meal Habits: Tarikua is offered Nido with cerifam and other semi-solid foods.

Sleep Times/Location in Foster Home: Tarikua sleeps in a baby room with other children in the same age range.

General Health and Illness History: Tarikua has made excellent gains in all areas of her growth. We have a new nurse in the Foster Home and her name is Sintayehu.

Other: Tarikua has begun to walk with support and she can stand without support. She repeats vowel-consonant combinations (ex: ba-ba).

I also received a communication that stated that Hayley Tarikua was in the "last checks for visa issuance." We really have no idea what this means. It seems like she has been in this stage for a long time. However I suppose it is better than "initial checks for visa issuance." :)

Tisha

What to do Next?

Well, it seems like it is so difficult to know what to do next. CAFAC (my adoption agency) is really beside themselves with the whole situation. Apparently (and this is second hand information) CAFAC has stopped taking in new business and new fees and is focusing solely on the group of files that are stuck at this last step at Canadian Immigration in Nairobi. The CEO of CAFAC is flying to Ethiopia on Monday to get a better handle on the new documents that are being required and will possibly fly on to Canadian Immigration in Nairobi if she feels it will help. All of this is taking an extreme financial toll on CAFAC which is a non-profit organization.

The families whose files are log-jammed because of these new procedures, are doing as much agitating as they can on the polical front with limited success so far. Discussion amongst the families continues about when is the right time to go to the press. Other ideas are being floated as well.

Again, because my file had errors in it upon submission, I feel like my position is a little weak yet to be taking more drastic measures. The CAFAC CEO has promised that she will find out next week when the corrections to my file arrived in Nairobi. That way I will have a better idea when a reasonable amount of time has passed for Nairobi to have issued Hayley Tarikua's Visa.

Meanwhile I received an e-mail from CAFAC today stating that they have been unable to get an answer from Nairobi about why my file did not receive an update last week along with the rest of the files.

So, what's the bottom line? I don't know... I love figuring out what the bottom line is, but in this situation, it seems there are no answers except to wait patiently.

Tisha

Hayley Tarikua's File Not Among Updates

Hello Everyone,

Most of the families with files at Canadian Immigration in Nairobi received updates today on their files, but Hayley Tarikua's file was not mentioned at all. I phoned CAFAC (my adoption agency) and no one knows if this is good or bad. CAFAC will try to get more information, but it is always challenging to get a response from Immigration so it could be awhile before I hear anything.

It seems that all of the updates that were received were not good news. Immigration is asking families for further documentation including such things as new sets of chest X-rays or papers from the Kebele (which is like a neighborhood council with some judicial power, see below for more info). Some families were also notified that they have now been chosen as a "random sample as part of their field investigation." This is a new addition to the process and is believed to be similar to the random screenings that happen at airport security.

I spoke at length with a representative at CAFAC and our impression is that Immigration has had a major shift in its dealings with the papers received in regard to Ethiopian adoption. Basically, it used to be that once the paperwork was in order, they would issue the Visa. Now they are investigating the paperwork itself in a way they never have before.

In light of this and because of the serious errors in the paperwork initially submitted to Immigration on Hayley Tariqua's behalf, Hayley and I are so off of the beaten path that it is really impossible to tell when her Visa will be issued. It could be next week, it could be a year from now. In the meantime the families who are log-jammed at Immigration are discussing ways to talk to politicians and/or the press to encourage Immigration to move a little more expeditiously.

It's been a difficult day. Emotions are running high with these families whose children are stuck and I am feeling it along with them. Hayley Tariqua and I have missed six months together because of these hold-ups. Six months at such a crucial time of development and bonding. It is heartbreaking.

I want to say a special thank you to my colleagues at work for not asking me about the status of the adoption. I know that you are all rooting for Hayley Tarikua and I and it made my unexpected return to work much easier to handle not to have to talk about the situation.

Keep Praying!

Love,
Tisha

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From Wikipedia

A kebele (Amharic "neighbourhood") is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a woreda, or district, itself usually part of a Zone, which in turn are grouped into one of the Regions based on ethno-linguistic communities (or kililoch) that comprise the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.[1] Each kebele consists of at least five hundred families, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 4,000 persons. There is at least one in every town with more than 2,000 population. A keftanya, or representative, had jurisdiction over six to twelve kebeles.

Newsletter from CAFAC

Hi Everyone,

The following information was in the September newsletter from CAFAC (my adoption agency).

Stats for the month of July 31 to August 31

Referrals this month (where a child is matched to a familiy)....15
Number of court approvals....0
Families with documents at Canadian Immigration in Nairobi....29
Visas issued this month....2

Nairobi Visa Office

The Nairobi office [Canadian Immigration] has not given us a full report on there visit to Ethiopia, but has been in touch with us on a more regular basis in the past couple of weeks. They have promised a full update of all of our files by September 10th.

That's all the news,
Tisha

Update not ready

Hi All,

I received this e-mail today from CAFAC (my adoption agency) regarding the update on my file that was to come today.

CAFAC wrote

Good morning:
I received an email from Nairobi yesterday. I have quoted it below. We did receive visas this week for our two most outstanding files, and Nairobi has been in contact re a couple of other files, so I do believe they are working on them. Canadian immigration at Nairobi wrote, "unfortunately I will not be able to provide the current status of the cases by the end of this week as promised. The review process is underway and we are hoping to send you a complete report. Hopefully we will be able to get the information to you by the end of next week. Please rest assured that every effort is underway to update all pending cases."

So the update is that the update will come next week.

Tisha

Another week passes

Hello All,

I received an e-mail today from CAFAC (my adoption agency) saying that they e-mailed Canadian Immigration in Nairobi and reminded them that they owe me an update on my file following Canadian Immigration's trip to Ethiopia. Canadian Immigration responded to CAFAC saying that they are reviewing my file and will send an update by the end of the week. Unfortunately, this exchange means very little except that CAFAC is continuing to advocate for Hayley Tarikua and me which is certainly a good thing.

That's all the news,
Tisha