Two Trip Rule

We recently found out the Ethiopian government enacted a new policy requiring both parents to be in court when guardianship was given. This meant traveling twice to Ethiopia or extending one's stay. Obviously, this caused panic and frustration among families because they might not be able to afford increased travel costs or to be away from work over a month.

What caused the Ethiopian government to adopt this new policy? Orphanages were giving false information including incorrect medical records, family information etc. So, when families arrived to pick up their new baby and found out about this, many left the country alone causing huge problems for the Ethiopian courts.

Today however, I read on WACAP's Yahoo group that the court suspended the "two trip rule" indefinitely. In addition, orphanages that gave fraudulent information were shut down.

We really hope this doesn't slow the referral process but at the same time thrilled the two trip policy was abandoned and the adoption process is more ethical.