Ghana - The Continuing Story

While we have been given the news that our agency does not plan to continue with a Ghana program, there is a strong voice, primarily from those with referrals, to find a way for these adoptions to proceed. It seems there may be some key individuals who may support a movement to keep Ghana alive and well. The closure of the program does not mean that Ghana adoptions cannot happen in Canada, but there are definite obstacles which would take a significant amount of effort to overcome. It seems like such an unlikely possibility, given that we have essentially been told twice that the program is closing. But if there is a small chance, especially for those with referrals...

One family with a referral for siblings learned that their children had been sent back to their village of origin during the Hands of Mercy orphanage issues. Tragically, one of these children has since died. Now, the Hands of Mercy Shutterfly site has just posted that another baby, also sent back to his village with his twin brother, has died as well. He was apparently to be referred to parents in Canada. We will of course have no way of ever knowing who would have been referred to us, but I suspect now that we were closer to a referral than I might have guessed, since at least one of the Ghana referrals came to a family whose dossier was sent after ours (they would have received their referral ahead of us likely because of a broader age request). While I am glad we did not receive a referral only to find out that we could not complete the adoption, thinking that some of these children impacted by the orphanage closure/restructuring could have been referred to us makes the situation more real in some ways.

http://handsofmercy.shutterfly.com/

Official Ghana Announcement Link

Here is the official news on the Ghana program, posted publicly by the bankruptcy trustee:

http://www.bdo.ca/extranets/imagineadoption/index.cfm

Back to the Drawing Board

I received a call from Imagine this morning, to address any questions we might have and to outline our options, which are to withdraw from Imagine or join the Ethiopia program. Seeing as we initially thought we would be going with the Ethiopia program, when we chose Imagine two years ago, it seems we may have come full circle. At this point we have not decided what we will do. Our options outside of Imagine include, for example, public adoption in Ontario or looking into international adoption through another agency (which means starting from scratch financially). We have just about a month to decide whether to renew with Imagine. Yikes - busy few weeks ahead, it looks like as we engage in major future planning.

Now We Know

We have received the sad, but somewhat expected, news that we have been waiting for regarding Ghana. It does not look like Imagine will be offering this program due to a number of significant obstacles. The email from our agency is fairly detailed, but another update will be posted by the bankruptcy trustee on Monday. We have also been informed that the agency will be calling to discuss our options with us. At this point, that likely means switching to Ethiopia, or withdrawing from Imagine. But we shall see...

If there is any good for us in this right now, it is that we received the news now, rather than a few months down the road (as we did not know how long the Ghana investigation might take) when even more time had passed. However, there are families with child referrals, and I do so hope that there are ways for them to complete their adoptions.

That is all for now. Guess it is time to get out of permanent waiting mode and into thinking and planning, and as of this moment I am not quite sure where this will lead, or even where we want it to lead. We will keep you posted.

Where Are We Going?

We still don't know. Imagine has received the Ghana report, but there has not been an announcement yet regarding the Ghana program. Without knowing what findings, conclusions, or recommendations are in the report, we are still hoping for good news. This week, waiting for information we know is coming, reminded me what it felt like through June, knowing news of the Ghana program was imminent. In many ways, it was easier to wait through July, August, September, and the first half of October, after the agency collapse, knowing that news was a long way off.

We have tried to resurrect some sense of forward movement, and attended the first meeting of a local satellite group for transracial adoptive families. We enjoyed the people there, and plan to continue attending. We have also set up the nursery again this week, after using the space for storage since last winter as we worked on flooring and trim throughout the upstairs. It is SO nice to have our upstairs rooms in order again. What a relief!

As usual, fall is catching up with me. This is the point at which I invariably realize that Christmas is much closer than I imagined, and that I am once again a little behind schedule. Although I do have my cards pretty much done, other than address labels. And with the house shaping up again, I should be able to start decorating the first week of November. Before putting up Christmas trees, however, I should likely empty and store my garden pots and planters and things. That will be near the top of the agenda for the coming week...at least we are all ready for trick-or-treaters next Saturday!

Coming This Week???

The lawyer working on the Canada-Ghana adoption situation has submitted his report to our agency. Apparently we may hear something early this week regarding the status of the Ghana program. Hoping...

Yes, all 'round!

Good news! We spent the morning in Kitchener, to attend the creditors' meeting where the final vote was held on the agency restructuring. There were 248 votes in favour of restructuring, and 20 against, so looks like things will be up and running in no time. There is a court date next Tuesday (September 29) for official approval, and the hoped-for start date for the agency is October 1. I spoke to a Guelph reporter for 570 News - microphone and everything, so will check later to see if I'm on the air. And a great couple we are getting to know, also with Ghana, did an on-camera interview with CH TV (Niagara, Halton, Hamilton, etc.). So tune in!

www.570news.com

www.chtv.com

Yes

We sent in our 'yes' vote to the restructuring proposal today. I appreciate the folks with business and accounting backgrounds who have been posting their assessments of the proposal and cash flow projections, which mean little to me when I look at them. There are definitely differing perspectives, and some concerns about long-term viability, but I have faith in those who have worked to build a sound proposal, and we want to see this agency resurrected! Looking forward to discussion at the creditor's meeting on September 21.

Still don't know if our future as Imagine clients will be with Ethiopia or Ghana, but don't give up on Ghana yet, folks - it can still happen, and barring definitive Ghana program closure or other insurmountable obstacles, that is still what we want to do.

Restructuring Proposal

Well folks, we have a proposal - now, if a majority of Imagine clients vote in favour of it, then the agency will be restructured with the goal of facilitating adoptions for all Imagine clients. You can read it for yourself if you like:

www.bdo.ca/imagineadoption

There is a creditor's meeting in regard to the proposal on September 21, and in the meantime, we send in our vote. No news yet regarding Ghana. If, sadly, Ghana cannot continue, one of our options would be to switch to Ethiopia, with our "place" in the program being determined by the date our file was sent off originally. But we're still holding out some hope for Ghana in the absence of a final verdict...

One More Chance...

Ok, so earlier this week the "though-the-grapevine" on Ghana was not sounding good. Today, however, there is still a glimmer of possibility for all of us would-be adoptive parents and all the lovely children waiting for us in Ghana, as an experienced and qualified professional will be retained to look into the matter and work on getting some firm and final answers as to whether there is going to be opportunity for Canadians to adopt from Ghana. There is room to hope and pray that a restructured Imagine (again, a distinct possibility - will know more about that very soon) would be able to process Ghana adoptions - there are still LOTS of big "ifs" and obstacles in this regard, so keep those prayers going! I must admit, the waiting is feeling more tedious now, as we watch time continue to pass without offering answers. However, we still believe it is best to sit this out rather than make any big changes in our direction unless we need to...still hoping so much that there are open doors and open minds so that barriers can be lifted.

Sound Familiar?

We're still waiting.

We are happy to keep waiting to hear about possible agency restructuring plans, BUT we are really hoping to start hearing some specifics about the Ghana situation in particular. People are working on getting a sense as to whether Ghana adoptions will be able to proceed, and whether a newly restructured Imagine would be licensed to continue with Ghana adoptions...but this continues to be an ongoing question mark, apparently with no easy-to-come-by answers. We trust that the necessary people will quickly have opportunities to come together for information-sharing, decision-making...whatever it is that must be done so that we know whether Ghana is an option. It would be so lovely to have a bit of a plan again - for now we just float without a compass.

Signs of Life

A very little thing, perhaps, but I was just pleasantly surprised by an email update on the Ghana program from an Imagine staff member who is working along with the bankruptcy trustee - there is no particular progress in regard to Ghana, but even receiving an email update is evidence that there is still work being done, and that the agency still has a heartbeat! We continue the wait to learn about a proposal being developed to (hopefully) restructure the agency, so the future is certainly still open to any possibility, happy or sad. Anyway, there are some excellent, qualified folks trying to clarify the status of Canada-Ghana adoptions, and some key connections being made with people who might offer significant support and assistance both to clarify whether Ghana adoptions are possible, and then (if the answer is "yes") to help establish a process for these adoptions. So far, there has been a ray of hope that the doors may not be entirely closed to Ghana, which I admit I didn't expect to hear, so we are not ready to back out yet!

Come Together

Yesterday we attended the creditors meeting facilitated by the trustee handling our agency's bankruptcy. It was a really positive experience - something so devastating has the potential to be a very exciting time of united action, hope, and restoration. There was completely unanimous agreement in the room to work together to restructure the agency so that all clients can continue their adoptions. There is a great deal of energy and a strong sense of collaboration in this group. The trustee was excellent, and enthusiastic, and there was a display of cooperation and negotiation amongst those willing to represent all creditors as an "inspector" (a committee of 5 people who will now work with the trustee to oversee primarily financial decisions moving forward). I had a real sense that everyone wants to make this work, is willing to collaborate to do it, and that there are some very skilled people with lots of wisdom playing key roles in all of this. It was worth making a spectacle of myself in my reclining lawn chair, pressure relief cushion, and back roll to be there! Oh, and I did answer a few questions from a reporter afterward - also exciting. I just can't remember his name and haven't found any quotes by me in the new articles I've been reading :) Ghana families met for lunch afterward to chat about our unique situation and action plan to see if there is a way our Ghana adoptions can continue...but that's a long story, so we'll leave it at that for now and see what unfolds!

Press Conference

Imagine clients speaking live to the media - pretty much sums everything up:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090724/imagine_adoption_090724/20090724?hub=Toronto

Imagine Family Website & Blog

Keep up with news, plans, and other information related to efforts to find solutions for families of Imagine Adoption! Thank you SO much to everyone who is putting time and energy into this effort. We believe exciting things will come of all this.

familieswithhope.org

unitedfamiliesofimagine.blogspot.com

Encouraging Efforts & Support

Here is some public information that I wanted to paste here for quick reference, showing some of the efforts and support for Imagine Adoption clients so far (there are more examples, including official government statements, but these are quite lovely):

1. This an excerpt from a notice by Imagine's bankruptcy trustee, which is particularly pertinent to folks in our situation - there may still be hope that families without referrals will also have support to complete their adoptions along with those who have already been matched (and please remember to include these families in any letters, phone calls, etc.):

BDO Dunwoody is continuing discussions with the licensing government office, stakeholders, individuals and other organizations regarding continuity of services that were provided by the previous organization. If successful, and fully compliant with regulatory requirements, the unmatched files would continue to be managed. This objective is not typical for a bankruptcy of this nature; however, the sensitivity of this priority is recognized. We will continue to communicate the status of this option for the unmatched families between now and the creditor meeting on July 30th.

See http://www.bdo.ca/extranets/imagineadoption/index.cfm for more information

2. Here is a link to a blog post by a London MP for the Liberal Party, sharing his experience at our London area meeting last Sunday:

glenpearson.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/adopting-a-new-attitude/

3. Also, many, many thanks to Yamana Gold (www.yamanagold.com), who have so generously donated to keep Imagine's transition house in Ethiopia running - BDO states that Yamana's contribution will keep the home open until the children there are able to return home with their families. Beautiful.

Options?

As I continue to follow the news and plans in regard to Imagine's bankruptcy and its implications for families in the program, a couple of issues have captured my attention.

1. Can existing adoption programs in Ontario support Imagine's clients to pursue adoption if we are forced to look elsewhere?
2. If the government builds even short-term supports to help Imagine clients see their adoptions through to completion, will this include clients who did not have referrals, and those who were not with the Ethiopia program?

I believe that we need to continue advocating for Imagine clients to have their files processed through to completion of their adoptions, in light of a concern that the Ontario adoption system likely cannot handle the influx of families who may be exploring other programs. I have realized that there simply may not be options for all of us if the existing adoption system is overwhelmed with new applicants. I have concerns for all families, but particularly those who did not have referrals and who were not with Ethiopia. I am following online discussions and posting around these issues, to see if any action has been taken to give voice in this regard.

News Stories

For those interested in following our agency's story in the news, just google:

"imagine adoption" bankrupt

Using that search, you will find stories from CBC, CTV, various local news agencies and papers (including the London Free Press), the Globe & Mail, etc. New articles keep coming out, so I won't try to keep up by posting links here. There is some hope that the Ministry of Children & Youth Services in Ontario may work to provide some assistance, at least for families with referrals, to continue with their adoptions, but nothing is certain yet.

The story has also been featured in some local television news, and will be on Canada AM tomorrow (Wednesday, July 15) morning.

Agency Bankruptcy Notice

Rather than trying to summarize or post the very unexpected news we received today regarding our agency, I will simply direct you to this release on the agency website. If the link doesn't work, just go to www.imagineadoption.ca and scroll down the home page to the BDO Notice link.

http://www.imagineadoption.ca/documents/BDONotice.pdf

It seems that our journey is taking a completely new direction...we just have no idea what that is. Over the next little while we will find out what is in store for all of us who have been involved with Imagine. So many staff, families, and children are affected by this situation...

We still feel good about the decisions we have made up to this point, so we don't have regrets about how we ended up here. We are going through this with some other great people, all of us in the same boat, and it helps to be in good company.

Nuthin'

The weekend is here, and there is no final verdict yet. There has been another meeting, but the outcome is unknown and will be until at least next week. I think my mind is on pause along with the Ghana program - I don't have anything particularly creative on my mind, so I will leave it at that. I will certainly post again once we have word on the program (and maybe before then if I think of something particularly stimulating to write).