ANDERSON, Ind. – A family from Anderson is scheduled to bring home their adopted son from Africa Saturday after an international adoption ban was put in place in April.
Rachael and Jon Oren said Monday they were in Ethiopia to pick up their legally adopted son Genene, and plan to bring him to their Anderson home.
In April, the couple was on a plane to pick up their 3-year-old son when the country’s prime minister suspended international adoptions.
The couple said the adoption for Genene had been in the works for the past two years. Rachael and Jon said they knew it was a “perfect match” from the beginning.
They said the Ethiopian government simply started processing their paperwork again amid the ban.
Jon said several other families in similar situations have made quick trips to pick up their adopted children as they are unsure of if laws will change again.
Genene is the second Ethiopian child adopted by the Oren family. Mekonen, 8, was previously adopted and the couple also has three biological children.
“We just have a firm conviction that kids belong in families,” said Rachael. “There's great loss in adoption and our kids have experienced some very deep traumas that have brought them to a place of needing a mom and a dad.”
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