Why Uganda?

The short answer is that, over time, I really felt that God was leading my heart there.  Every time I thought about Ugandan adoption, I got more excited about it, and as I thought about other options, gradually they seemed dimmer.

When Mark and I were first discussing adoption, we talked about all the options - domestic infant, foster-to-adopt, international, etc.  We thought about our priorities -- did we want an infant? did we want a relationship (or want to avoid a relationship) with birth parents? what would a transracial family be like for us? were we equipped to handle a troubled child?

When we started talking about international adoption, everything just seemed to click together: this is where we were meant to be.  We had stated years ago that a connection with the broader world was one of our top family values.  I had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time in Asia as a young girl, and had always longed for a similar experience for my children.  We realized that parenting an infant was not important to us; we both loved (and actually preferred) parenting toddlers and older children.  I am already a full-time mother, which means that I would have the time and energy to focus on this child and his or her needs.  We already use the Attachment Parenting model with our son, which is usually what is recommending to help an older child work through their natural adoption trauma.

So once we were looking at international adoptions, there were both so many options and so few!  Everyone thinks "what country did you choose/like the best?", but really, we decided it was more important to choose an agency with strong ethical standards, and select one of the countries they served.  We visited several agencies before deciding that Journeys of the Heart fit our family's needs and concerns, but by that point we were already leaning strongly towards an African program, especially Uganda.

Here were some of the things that kept drawing us in:
-My sister had recently spent a couple of years in Cameroon as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Our hearts and minds were full of the stories and pictures she had brought back.
-There is almost no governmental safety net in Uganda or other African countries.  There are no orphanages, no food, no education for the many children who are the orphans or AIDS and war, let alone families in-country who can adopt them.  The alternative to international adoption is often for the child to die on the streets.
-The children usually spend months or years with their birth family before being placed for adoption; they have not been institutionalized their whole lives.
-Since Uganda has only very recently opened for international adoption, the programs are not yet backlogged or filled with as much fraud as they would/might be after a while (such as in Ethiopia).  Although the timeline could be shorter than many countries, the flip side of that is that there is a lot of uncertainty working with a new system like this.

The final straw was when we found that JOH runs their own orphanage in Uganda, so there is a direct connection with the children and the families who relinquish them.   We deeply hoped that this would lead to much greater transparency in the process, reducing the likelihood of fraud... both in the relinquishment process as well as the resources really going to take the best possible care of the children.

Even though this process has had many ups and downs and emotional stress and turmoil (already!) I feel deep in my heart that this is where we are supposed to be.  I feel like God has guided us to this place, and that He will continue to help us in the months and years ahead.