Wednesday, February 6, 2008

One at a time...

First, it was that we won't get to meet Melkamu's birthmother.

Then it was that there's no chance we'll travel over my spring break and will likely have to wait until May so as not to jeopardize my job.

Now it's that we won't be able to stay in the guest house if we bring Patrick.

CHS.FS is really dropping the ball entirely. Meeting our child's birth family and the guest house were two major draws to our agency. Enough so that we were willing to pay much higher fees than other reputable agencies in order to use them. Since part of our fees went to our guest house stay, that helped--the bigger issue, of course, was meeting the birth family and all CHS.FS does to facilitate that.

We're now being told that they had to make a hard and fast rule due to past abuse of the guest house that only the adoptive parents and their new child/ren can stay there. I could understand that there are issues if the family required a second room, but we're talking about a 4-year old who would likely even stay in the same bed as us. I would happily pay a bit more for costs for his meals and all, but that's not an option. Which means now we'll have the cost of a hotel (and lost the money that we've already paid for the guest house, as you don't get it back if you don't stay there), food, and transportation to and from the care center (as well as anywhere else) added onto the trip. We simply don't have another $1000+ to add onto this--travel costs alone are going to be $5000+. We will be maxing out our credit cards just to pay for the airfare. There's no extra money for the rest of it, especially at the beginning of the summer when I won't be working for 3 months.

I am completely disillusioned by this point, heartbroken, and don't know what to do.

6 comments:

erin said...

Oh Erin, that is all awful! They should reimburse you for the guest house if you didn't know ahead of time about their rule!

I know that there are other guesthouses in Addis that are more reasonable than hotels and have cooks and staff around to help out. Try to contact Mary at Owlhaven.typepad.com, she and her extended family have been to Ethiopia many, many times, and may have some ideas.

None of this has been easy for you, and I'm really sorry for that. I wish I could help!

erin said...

Oops! it's owlhaven.wordpress.com! Sorry! She also has her main ethiopian blog at : ethiopia.adoptionblogs.com

Jess said...

Erin, I'm so sorry. That sucks bigtime.

:(

whatever_heather said...

Ugh, I can't believe they have done this. I am so frustrated with all these changes, I can't imagine being where you are and having these thrown at you. I can totally see the change if you need more than one room, but come ON...a 4 year old?? Ridiculous. So many families are going to lose out on the amazing comraderie that WAS the guest house...It is a HUGE factor in who we use next time, should there be one.
I feel awful for you, and I wish there was something we could do. The most important thing to remember though, is that Mel is your SON, and you WILL go get him, and soon. It's all going to be okay...Worry about the bills when you get home, hey that's what I always do... ;)
Love ya...hang in there!

Anonymous said...

What a raw deal. Sorry things are discouraging!

Handlyrics said...

There should be something they can do. Reimbursement or a credit towards your account or something. That's not fair and not your fault. GRRRR. These are the changes you shouldnt have to go through.