One of the topics that often arises when talking about Malawi (and South Africa in General), is the subject of adoption. For many years couples from around the world have traveled to Africa in the hopes of adopting a child. The adoption process is not simply a matter of traveling to Africa, and returning with a new baby. There are laws, rules and regulations that must be followed. In addition, there are a number of agencies (some legitimate and some not legitimate) that can help in the process. Recently however, adoption of these African children has become a controversial topic.
Irregardless of your views, the reality is there are a lot of orphaned children in Africa and a lot of people looking to adopt these children.
The Process Of Adoption In Malawi
1. Hire a Malawian attorney to assist you in going through the process. He or she will help you in completing the adoption paperwork with the courts.
2. You must then submit an adoption application to the Ministry of Gender, Child and Community Development of Malawi.
3. If you are found to be eligible to adopt you will then be allowed to identify the child you want to adopt, most prospective adoptive parents adopt children through hospitals, orphanages, missions, or local churches. If you aren’t able to identify a child, the Ministry Of Gender, Child and Community Development can offer you a child referral.
4. Gaining legal custody of the child in Malawi. Although the adoption process is overseen by the Ministry of Gender, Child and Community Development, the High Court of Malawi makes the final decision on each adoption. A guardian ad litem is chosen by the Magistrate Court to investigate the social history of the child who is going to be adopted, and monitor the prospective adoptive parent or parents for a given period of time. The guardian ad litem then submits a court social report to the high court, which then rules on whether the adoption can be finalized.
According to the Adoption of the Children Act (CHAP. 26:01 of the laws of Malawi, you will need to have the following documents or proof of:
I. Your of identity and nationality
II. Malawi Court Social Report
III. The child that is being adopted is eligible for adoption.
IV. Consent of birth parent or legal guardian, or a person who has custody or is likely to contribute to the child’s support.
The adoption process takes approximately 2-6 months to complete, and on average the attorney fees are between 60,000-85,000 MK (Malawi Kwacha), registrar fees and court filing fees are 850 MK, and the Malawian passport fees are approximately 15,000 MK.
After you have finalized the adoption process you can apply for a birth certificate for the child. The Registrar General’s Office in Blantyre is responsible for keeping birth records. It usually takes 2-3 weeks to get a birth certificate. If you are a parent from another country you will also need to meet the legal requirements in the destination country for you to finish the whole adoption process.
In May of 2009, the Malawi Supreme Court determined that an adoption can be granted to adopting parents who are foreigners as long as the parent or parents aren’t temporary visitors to Malawi and they should have a serious connection or commitment to Malawi. Although The Malawi Ministry of Gender, Child, and Community Development hasn’t published a written policy that implements this decision, the judges in the lower courts are using it to issue adopting decrees to foreign adopting parents.
Madonna adopts 2 babies in Malawi Africa
In 2006, media speculation was rife when Madonna flew to Malawi and visited several orphanages. The popular singer had previously been engaged in various initiatives in the country to fight poverty and address HIV and AIDS prevalence. This culminated into her making a documentary titled, ‘I am Because We Are,’ which highlights the plight of children being ravaged by poverty and AIDS. She also co-founded a Non-Profit called ‘Raising Malawi’ which addresses the plight of children. Malawi, a tiny South African Country has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates, in addition to being ravaged by abject poverty. In the following days, the speculation was put to rest when a government official acknowledged that the singer was due to file adoption papers. When the procedure was finalized, indeed the singer and her husband Guy Ritchie had adopted a baby boy, one year old David Banda.
Human rights activists later went to court in an attempt to halt the adoption on grounds that existing laws had been violated. David’s father, Yohane Banda soon emerged, arguing that he had not understood the provisions of the adoption contract. He said that he did not know that the adoption was final. Critics further argued that the baby was “technically” not an orphan as he had a living father. Existing legal provisions in the country barred non-residents who have not lived in the country for more than 18 months from adopting babies. Madonna, as influential and as philanthropic as she had been previously was exempted from this rule. Despite all the media and legal frenzy, the singer was allowed custody of the child and the case came to an end in 2008.
In June 2009, the singer adopted her second baby, three year old Chifundo “Mercy” James, but controversy continued to dog the process. A man by the name James Kambewa emerged claiming to be the girl’s father and demanded to be allowed custody of the child. This case was brought before Malawi’s highest court for arbitration. The man claimed that he had placed the child in an orphanage after her mother died and he was unable to provide for the baby`s upkeep. In a bizarre turn of events, the court rejected Madonna`s request for adoption on grounds that she was not a resident of Malawi. Undeterred, the singer appealed the ruling and subsequently was given custody of the child.
The two adoptions generated a lot of media interest both locally and abroad. The big question was whether the adoptions were being carried out on humanitarian grounds or purely as a celebrity stunt by the 55 year old singer. Well, the jury is still out there.
