Since the Africa blog is temporarily without someone attending full time, I'm paying even closer attention to issues of the continent that pertain to children in general and to adoption specifically.

This story stands out this morning. Titled, "Africa: Poverty Can Separate A Child From Family", reflects on the condition and plight of African Children as seen by Halifa... more

Whoever you are ... I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

Blanche DuBois -- "A Streetcar Named Desire"

I've been thinking ... and writing ... about Iraqi orphans lately -- what can happen when international adoption is not an option for kids, how cruel some people can be to innocents, how war often brings out the worst in humans -- and pondering over what, if anything,... more

Not new news, but another take on some countries banning overweight people from adopting children, this one from Australia, points out that South Korea, Taiwan and China have all decided that hopeful parents of a certain girth need not apply, citing the reasoning as wanting, "the most stable and harmonious environment" for children.

Excuse me, but … ahem … horse hockey.

I don't care what sort of tidy health-by-the-numbers... more

Holding the first donor meeting of its own hosting, Cambodia has upped its request for donor dollars to 689 million -- a 15% increase on the previous year.

In a joint statement, donors said that reforms and progress has been made by Cambodia and the country has achieved double-digit economic growth for the pastseveral years while financial management reforms have also been put in place and,diplomats and participants said they are encouraged... more

Angelina Jolie has been talking to Anderson Cooper about Cambodia, among other things.

"I fell in love with the people of Cambodia," she told Cooper, "and I was sitting with a little kid playing blocks and feeling like my son was somewhere there. And he was."

As well as discussing her extensive humanitarian and... more

Parents with kids from China will be interested to hear about "China Ghosts" a new book written by Jeff Gammage about the adoption of his daughter. It's the story of a girl, a father and a family that Lisa See, author of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" ... a lovely book of harsh realities ... calls, " ... the most informative and heartfelt book I’ve read about the adoption of girls from China.”

Parents in Pakistan have a strange ... more

With Jan Baker taking the time to laud adoptive parents and their contributions toward the betterment of adoption in the world on her recent blog, I'm inspired to expand on the topic a bit today in support of her tribute.

Coming across this story... more

Continuing with the week's news from Cambodia ... At the same time Cambodia is courting strip malls, they're also renewing efforts to get UNESCO to classify an ancient temple on the Thai... more

There has been some action toward progress in the Khmer Rouge trials, and word is coming out that war crimes indictments are to be issued within weeks.

With the mainstream media adept at jumping through the hoops on this topic, it's refreshing to find Global Voices grazing the blog world... more

I'm happy to report that even though the movement to put a halt to the option of international adoption continues to tick over in the US, other parts of the world are catching on to how right it is to present the option of families to children in other countries. In Iceland, for instance, the Iceland Adoption Society is investigating adoption by Icelandic families of children from African nations.

“We are... more