Ghana – FAQ's

Can you explain what the program fee pays for?
The program fees for a Ghana adoption include, but are not limited to: the paperwork needed for adoption (birth certificate, death certificates, court declarations, etc.); the attorney fee; court filing; in-country and international communication and transportation for AAI staff; salaries and benefits for 20 in-country staff members; rent for Eban House; food for the children in our care; education for the children; general medical care; medicals required for the adoption; clothing; house utilities; your child’s passport; humanitarian support for cooperating orphanages; and taxes and insurance to maintain our NGO status.

Why are there so few babies and toddlers in your program?
We find that in Ghana (especially in the south) mothers tend to care for the children as long as they can successfully breastfeed them. This means that, in general, children can maintain a moderate nutritional status until they are 2-3 years old. Also, there is an active domestic adoption program in Ghana for perfectly healthy newborn infant girls with no living parents. As much as possible we want to support the domestic adoption program in Ghana. If a child can be adopted within Ghana, we will not place them for international adoption. We have been surprised by the unusually low number of infants and toddlers, and are not completely sure of all the factors involved, but these are the two factors that we know play a part.

Why are there so many sibling sets in need of adoption?
So far in our program, 4 out of every 5 children in our care has been part of a sibling group. As in most African countries, it is common for Ghanaian women to have many children, from the time they are very young until the time when they are quite old to carry a child. In some cases biological family chooses for an entire sibling set to be placed for adoption, and in other cases they may choose for only 2 or 3 of a large sibling group to be adopted. It is our goal to place siblings sets together, no matter how large. Only in unusually circumstances are sibling sets separated in our program.

I want to adopt only one child. Will that affect my wait time?
Quite possibly. We have seen families who hope to adopt only one child wait longer than if they were also open to a sibling set—especially if the family hopes to adopt a child under 4 years old.

Are the ages of the kids accurate?
In most cases the biological family may have a general idea of the child’s age, but not the actual birth date. Our staff, the biological family, and our doctor all work together to assign an age whenever a child’s birth date is not known. Because this is not an exact science families need to be aware that the child’s actual age may be older or younger than assigned, despite our best efforts to give an accurate birth date. AAI would never knowingly “age down” a child.

What’s up with all of the Ghanaian names I keep hearing?
It’s not unusual for kids to come to us with names that are not typical in the west. We’ve seen Bright, King, Prince, Queenstar, Promise, Wise, Gifty, and many other names that are nouns or character traits. We also see uncommon Bible names like Enoch (pronounced with a short e sound), Ebenezer, Ishmael, and Elias. Most children are given a “Christian” (aka “western” name) along with a tribal name (usually associated with the day of the week they were born).

What’s the weather/climate like in Ghana?
Ghana is HOT! Ghana is a tropical country lying just north of the equator. The rainy season lasts from April to October in northern Ghana and from April to June and again from September to October in the south. Temperatures range from about 70°F to over 100°F. Humidity can be very high in the south, but more moderate-to-dry in the North. In most areas the temperatures are highest in March and lowest in August, after the rains. Variations between day and night temperatures are small.

What are the predominant languages in Ghana?
Around 80 languages are spoken in Ghana—a country the size of Oregon. The official language is English, although in reality English is usually the second or third language learned by Ghanaians. The first language a Ghanaian learns is their own tribal language. The second language learned is usually Twi—the most predominant tribal language in the country. When a child enters into school (or at around age 3) English is introduced. As adults, most Ghanaians speak at least 3 languages semi-fluently.

Where do most of the children in the AAI program come from?
The children in our program can come from any region in Ghana, but most often come from the region of Greater Accra, Central Region, or Volta Region. The children come to us from a variety of circumstances. They may be placed with us by another orphanage, directly through Social Welfare, directly by a biological family member, or by a guardian that took the child off of the street.

I’m a single woman. Can I get special approval to adopt from Ghana?
Maybe. If you are a single woman who is under 50 years of age, has an existing tie to Ghana/Africa, are financially secure, and are open to older children, special needs, or sibling sets; we may be able to gain special permission from Social Welfare for you to adopt from Ghana. At this time it is unlikely that special permission can be gained for a single woman hoping to adopt a healthy child under 4 years of age.

We are a couple over 50 years old. Can we get special approval to adopt?
It is difficult, but in some circumstances we may be able to get special approval for you to adopt—if you are interested in adopting HIV+ children, a single child over 10, or a sibling set over 6 years of age. We do not believe it will be possible to gain special permission for couples where one or both are over 60 years.

We are a family with over 6 children in our home. Can we adopt?
Possibly. We are working with Ghana Social Welfare to become more open-minded about large families. If your family has up to 10 children in the home and you are hoping to adopt a child (or children) over 4 years old, we can try to get special permission from Social Welfare to proceed with an adoption. It helps if you already have adopted children in the home, especially if you already have adopted African/Ghanaian children. If you are a family that has already adopted from Ghana, we will attempt to get special permission for you regardless of the number of children you have in your home.

What do Ghanaians think about international adoption?
At this point we find that most Ghanaian people are in favor of international adoption when the child is not likely to ever be adopted in Ghana. Our families have not experienced any negative reactions to walking around with their children while in Ghana. In fact, many people are very complimentary of Americans who adopt Ghanaian children. Ghana is a country that is highly paranoid about the risk of child-trafficking. There are some in the government that are concerned that children could be taken out of Ghana under the guise of adoption when in fact they are being used as slaves (or worse) after they leave the country. For this reason we believe it will be important for Ghana Social Welfare and other officials to see post-placement reports of the children once home.

Can you tell me about AAI’s Children’s Home–Eban House?
Eban House was established in June 2007 when we welcomed 6 children into the home. Our home can care for up to 40 children. Eban House is located in Teshie-Nungua—a suburb of Ghana’s capitol, Accra. Eban House is about a 10 minute drive from the coast, and enjoys sea breezes throughout the afternoon hours. There are a variety of hotels (from budget to luxury) within a 10 minute drive of our home. At Eban House the children enjoy a nutritionally balanced diet; a home education that includes lessons about family, adoption, and America in addition to general subjects; playground equipment; field trips; and good medical care. Our staff to child ratio is based on the children’s ages, but is no MORE than 8 children to each staff member.

Is Ghana safe?
In 2008 Ghana was determined to be the most peaceful nation in Africa according to the Global Peace Index. Ghanaians pride themselves in being “the friendliest people in Africa.” Many will warmly greet you with “Akwaaba–You are Welcome!” Ghanaians go out of their way to provide assistance and support to travelers. You should take the same precautions in Accra as you would in any large US city. It is not recommended that you travel at night because of treacherous driving conditions. And one should be cautious about traveling across the country without a guide. In general our families have felt very safe and comfortable in Ghana. It is a country that enjoys political stability not seen in the rest of the region.

What about the food?
In Accra and other large cities you can expect to find continental food at a variety of restaurants that cater to westerners (pizza, burgers, fries, chicken, etc.). Outside of major cities the food will likely be more traditional. Traditional foods in Ghana include chicken or guinea fowl and rice; goat, beans and rice, glutinous starches served with tomato and onion-based “soups,” fish (served whole), yams, and plantains. The food can be quite spicy for westerners, and the flavors (some say) closely resemble the “soul food” that we have in America.