Journeys of the Heart has a new adoption program in the Republic of Mali (Mali), a country in West Africa.  The Sahara desert reaches into landlocked Mali from the North towards the ancient central city of Timbuktu. The fairly arid south including the capital of Bamako is nourished by the Niger River.  The official national language of Mali is French although over 40 other local languages are spoken.  

Mali is considered to be one of the most politically and socially stable countries in Africa, having had a democratic government since 1991.  Mali is among the poorest countries in the world and has hundreds of thousands of orphans (children living in poverty who have lost one or both parents).  Sadly, similar to many of the poor countries in Africa, at least 12% of children under 15 are orphans.  An estimated 1.9% of children and adults are afflicted with HIV-AIDS - one of the lowest rates in Africa.

Mali has signed and implemented the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption.  It has a professional and effective central adoption authority.   

The children available for adoption in Mali are under five years old.  Families requesting an infant will be able to adopt a child who will be around one year old at the time the adoption is final.  We expect to place children from one or the other of two government run orphanages in the country’s capital city.  The orphanages are excellent facilities with compassionate caregivers, good nutrition, and a pediatrician who visits weekly and as needed.

· A home study that approves the family to adopt

· USCIS I-800A approval

· Parents or the younger of a couple should be no more than 45 years older than the child to be adopted and in good health - older parents (within reason) may be considered on a case by case basis

· Single women must be 35 years or older (single men cannot adopt)

Since Mali adoptions are “Hague adoptions”, families wishing to adopt from Mali must complete a home study and obtain the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) approval of the their I-800A application before they can be matched with a child.  As in all “Hague” adoptions, families wishing to adopt from a Hague country should start the home study as soon as possible.  Journeys of the Heart is approved to complete “Hague” home studies in the states of Oregon, Washington, and Illinois. Journeys of the Heart can place children from Mali with families in all states.

Dossier requirements are straight forward.  Once the dossier is completed (home study, CIS I-800A approval, infertility documentation, and another 10 or so documents) and submitted by Journeys of the Heart to Mali, the family should be matched fairly quickly.  The time between being matched and finalizing the adoption in Mali will take about 6 months.  At that time the family travels to Mali to complete the paperwork necessary to bring the child home. 

At least one parent must travel to Mali and the trip will require approximately 15 days in Mali including several days at the end in neighboring Senegal where the U.S. Consulate in Dakar will issue the adopted child’s immigrant visa (IH-3) to enter the U.S.  Bilingual staff will assist families while they are in Mali.