Russia vs Guatemala

I chose Guatemala for many reasons including the fact that I truly admire and am drawn to Latino culture. In Guatemala, most children available for adoption live in private foster homes and are very healthy. The risks associated with institutionalization are not an issue. There is a very low incidence of alcohol and drug usage. It is not necessary to make more than one trip out of country, although many people travel for one or more visits during the process. Traveling to Guatemala is a breeze in comparison to Russia. Finally, the excellent agencies have a good chance of finalizing the adoption when the child is very young. If you post your question on the Russian and the Guatemalan forums, you might get more responses. Best wishes - I know it's a tough decision.

When we first started looking at international adoption, we were originally looking at Korea. We attended a free seminar by our agency that went over multiple countries in detail. When we left the seminar we were drawn to Guatemala and just knew this was the country for us. We live in Tampa so we are surrounded by Hispanic culture and I have many friends that are Hispanci so for us we saw the possibility of being able to keep our daughter exposed to the food, music etc...of her heritage. Some other things that were positive about Guatemala (as mentioned by Shoshana) are the health of the children and the travel situation. Good luck to you on your journey. Regards, Brandy

We also have chosen Guatemala..three times. First reason is it's a country our agency works with (we'd used agency for first US adoption). We knew they also work w/ a really great, small private orphanage where the kids are loved and well cared for. They've been working w/ them for over 15yrs. After our first son came home from there, we were convinced our other adoptions would include children from the same orphanage. There are no state orphanages in Guat, only private, plus the use of foster care. Everyone I know whose child was in foster care there has been happy w/ what they learned of those situations there child was in. We brought home our second son two yrs later, and we hope to travel w/in next few months for 10yr old daughter. All three had the benefit of living in this loving place. Other reasons for Guatemala, we're also are drawn to that country, culture and the beautiful people. We've enjoyed two trips and anticipate a great visit again soon. Adoptions through an orphanage take much longer as a rule 9mo-1yr...but it is so worth the wait, if that's what you would choose. All children need families, so I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from choosing any country. However, we do know families whose children from Russia have come w/ some institutional "issues". Some have been lingering issues, but others have thrived upon becoming part of a family. It seems Russian orphanages are much larger, so kids might not have as much TLC. That's not a reason to say no to Russia, but our personal choice, feeling less certain and having more fears about the situations our child might have encountered. Any child from any country will come "just as they are", issues or none. Birth children can come w/ issues also, so we have to be ready in either case to take the risk. You have to decide what you would be willing to handle and let your agency know those things for sure, regardless of what country you pursue. Ask questions and be sure you get the answers you feel you need. Our agency did tell us that of all the international kids they place, they've seen the Guatemalan kids adapt the easiest. They are a happy people, in spite of the poverty many find themselves in. Best wishes! Somewhere your child is waiting for you, or soon will be. I would definitely encourage you to pray and ask God for guidance. I believe He knows the plans He has for us...and for each child. Only He could have "found" and brought our children to us. We would never have known specifically where to look for them! They fit just right in our family, evidence to me that God had it in His plans all along.

I really can't compare the two since I have only adopted from Russia, but I can give some insite as to why we chose Russia. We liked the fact that even though we would have to make two trips that the turnaround for a court date was relatively quick. Once you made your first trip a court date is set , you go back have court and get your child. You need to go to the embassy for the visa and that's it. Russia was a place my husband always wanted to visit so this gave us the chance to see Russia and become parents to our wonderful little boy at the same time. There are good agencies out there that can help and there are many wonderful IA doctors that can give insight to any health concerns. We are so glad we adopted from Russia. My advice would be to talk to some agencies and go on both forums and ask alot of questions. In the end your heart will lead you in the direction that is best for you. Good luck to you, Vicki

There is also one other option - Ukraine. Main reason that Ukrainian culture close to Russian but adoption process is less complicated as in my opinion.

The main reason we did not adopt from Ukraine is that our hearts lead us toward Russia. Another reason is, we wanted a child under one year old and we prefered the two shorter trips as opposed to one trip for three to four weeks. It's really a matter of personal preference, if I adopted again, I would adopt a child around two years , but I wanted my first child to be an infant. Vicki