Somoan info needed

Samoa is closed at this time to adoption. It may be possible to do an independent adoption but I haven't heard of anyone doing it since the shutdown. American Samoa could be a whole different story. :flower:

My best friend just brought home a baby boy from American Samoa last year. It was a fluke. The baby was already born and was with its uncle. The uncle knew my friends from an old college connection and knew they were trying to adopt. They flew to A Samoa, got the baby and came home a week later......BUT, they were very lucky. All the stars aligned for them. The courts were open, the uncle was well known and wall respected, etc, etc. It could have easily gone the other way. They are one of the few I know who have adopted from there. There are many many foster children in Hawaii and it might be possible to adopt from Hawaii......We looked into the Marshall Islands before they closed in 2000. Now it is open again and we know a few familes that have done adoptions from there. The wait is very long and I know you have to travel for up to 30 days. It can get complicated!!! That is why we are going to Ethiopia!!!Good Luck!

You said the Marshall Islands just opened up again? Do you know the ages of the children they are willing to place? My husband has Pacific Island ancestry (way back) and demonstrates many of the typical physical characteristics. It might be nice to have a child that resembled his/her father in stature.

our agency (we are currently adopting from guatemala) works with the marshall islands, as far as i know they are the only one, or one of a few. pm me and i can send you their url. the agency is GREAT, by the way. -samantha

I suspect that Samoa will be closed for the foreseeable future. The Marshall Islands is a fairly small program (small country). It requires ongoing contact (via agency is OK) and has a fairly long time in country (~30 days for 1 parent, ~10 for the other). Majuro might be a bit dull, but is fairly safe and inexpensive, if you use your common sense. There are also a few ways to cut corners on expenses, such as some short term apartments with kitchens might be available. The RMI government currently has approved only 1 agency for (non-familial) adoptions. Good luck in wherever adoption takes you. David --------------------- Non-commercial academic links (mostly photos) about the RMI follow. The Lehman photo collection: [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Lehman/]Christian and Krista Lehman's 2005 Marshall Islands Photos[/url] Majuro, Marshall Islands, Images and Resources: [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Links.html]David Huskins - Marshall Islands Page[/url] Census maps of Micronesians living in the U.S.: [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Demos/]Census 2000 Demographics of Micronesians in the United States - 2004[/url] Images of Majuro, urban and rural [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Silk/]Photos of Majuro Atoll (RMI) - 2003[/url] Marshall Islands - W.W.II. images [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Butterfield/]Ken Butterfield's Pacific W.W.II. Experience[/url] [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Tekulve/]Robert A. Tekulve's Pacific W.W.II. Photos[/url] [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Oldpix/Kwaj1.html]David Huskins - Historic Kwajalein Photos[/url] Survey of Marshallese Nutrition Choices: [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Health/Nutrition.html]Marshall Islands Food Consumption Survey[/url] My roster of RMI satellite images (hosted by NASA) [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/NASA/Satellite-Images-RMI.html]David Huskins - Marshall Islands Page of NOAA Images[/url] Examples of Marshallese woven crafts [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Marshallese_crafts.html]Marshallese Crafts - frontpage - D. Huskins[/url] Laura and Woja, Majuro - the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), in the Central Pacific. [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Laura-Majuro.html]Laura and Woja, Majuro, RMI - by David Huskins[/url] Downloadable RMI Maps [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Maps/]Marshall Islands Map Archive[/url] ----------- Geographic and cultural images of Samoa: [url=http://www3.uakron.edu/majuro/Samoa/]Photos of Samoa #1 - 2004[/url]

Any luck finding experts on Samoan adoptions? I'm a reporter looking for sources to talk about a Utah adoption agency charged with smuggling babies from that country. Kirsten Stewart