The Process

Currently we have completed our dossier, our fingerprints, and are waiting to hear from Barker what the next step will be in the process to adopt our little one.

The entire adoption process takes between 9-18 months. We started the process in June 2009.


Step 1: Research/Choose Agencies:
- Colombia - FANA - International Adoption Agency
- Maryland - Barker Foundation - works directly with FANA
- Texas - Lutheran Social Services - completes our Home Study - works directly with Barker

Step 2: Application Process
- biographies
- physicals
- references
- background check
- history
- finances


Step 3: Training
- 10 hrs. in Houston on adoption issues


Step 4: Home Study
- Personal interviews w/social worker
- Couple interview w/social worker
- Home inspection w/social worker


Step 5: Dossier
- legal documents assembled for foreign government



Step 6: Referral
- baby is available
- review referral documents
- accept referral



Step 7: Visas/Immigration
- complete all legal documentation to travel to Colombia and bring baby into the US


Step 8: Travel to Bogota, Colombia
- 3-6 weeks in Colombia
- court visits
- international paperwork
- pick up baby


Step 9: Baby is Home


Step 10: Post Placement Visits
- 3 evaluation visits to our home by social worker

About Colombia

Colombia is a country of 46 million people named after Christopher Columbus, who arrived in the Americas in the 1400s. The fourth largest country in South America, its boundaries stretch from the Pacific Ocean coast on the west, to the Caribbean Sea on the north, and with Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela as its close neighbors. Colombia's capital, Bogotá, is a bustling urban area of over eight million people. The Caribbean coast supports major port cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta. Other parts of the country are quite rural, with a strong agricultural presence.

Colombia's rich culture and history have been formed by the melding of its indigenous populations with the influx of the Spanish and European explorers of the 15th century. Some of those indigenous peoples continue to follow their traditional ways even today. Colombia gained its independence from the Spaniards in the early 1800's after Simon Bolivar led the resistance against Spain. Today, many Colombian towns have a "Plaza de Bolivar" named in his honor.
Located near the equator, Colombia's varied geography encompasses mountain highlands, arid plateaus, lush rain forests, and tropical Caribbean beaches. The country is home to a wide range of plant and animal species, some unique to Colombia. The beauty and natural diversity of the country is readily apparent to those who travel outside the major metropolitan areas. Colombia is a major exporter of flowers, particularly roses, to the US and European markets, as well as coffee, leather, and other agricultural goods.

What is FANA?

The Fundacion para la Asistencia de la Niñez Abandonada (FANA) has served the children and young women of Colombia for almost 35 years. Through FANA, thousands of children have found loving, permanent homes. Many other children have received temporary care including nutrition and shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, and schooling before returning to their birth families.

Young women in need of assistance are welcomed at the Hogar Marguerite, affiliated with FANA, and are offered counseling, vocational training, medical care, as well as basic necessities. FANA is supported by a dedicated staff and strong worldwide network of families and friends who help support its efforts.

History of FANA
What began as one couple’s personal dream has become a source of joy, fulfillment and a better quality of life for tens of thousands of people throughout the world.
Thousands of children have found homes and families over the past 35 years thanks to the work of FANA, an organization based in the suburbs of Bogotá, Colombia. The modern, three-story facility that houses FANA (the Spanish acronym for the Foundation for the Assistance of Abandoned Children) is a far cry from the Bogotá home of Mercedes Rosario Pineda de Martinez, where in 1972 she and husband Arturo took in several abandoned children, enlisted the help of relatives and friends, and found homes for the children.
The story began when Mercedes and Arturo learned it was unlikely they could have children. At the time, adoption in Colombia was extremely difficult, so they turned to Canada, where Mercedes had attended school. There, in 1968, they adopted their first daughter, Maria Lucia. Four years later, they sought another child, but this time in Colombia. They were able to adopt a second girl, Elena, but also were inspired to make the situation in Colombia easier for the many abandoned children and the would-be parents who longed for children.
From utilizing their own home to using a rented house in Bogotá, and then moving to a larger rented house, and eventually to the addition of the building next door, FANA grew. At the same time, Mercedes, the daughter of the former governor of the city of Cartagena, began working her way through government and legal channels to be recognized by Colombian authorities and to make the adoption process less cumbersome.
Along the way, she enlisted help from hundreds of volunteers, donations from charities and support groups, and even a mission sent to Colombia after she was invited for an audience with the Pope. By 1995, FANA was able to erect and move into its current facility on a three-acre site in the suburb of Suba. The results have touched so many lives in so many ways.
Adoptive parents from Colombia, North America, Europe, and Australia have been able to love and nurture children, something that might not otherwise been a part of their lives. Children from Colombia without a traditional family have received the opportunity to reach their full potential and know the love of a devoted family. Colombian birth mothers have received the prenatal and health services they need as well as valuable vocational skills from FANA. Foster children who are not available for adoption but need short-term or specialized care are lovingly supported in the state-of-the-art FANA facility.
FANA headquarters include a fully staffed medical facility for the children from the time of their births, including intensive care and physical therapy; living, classroom, and play areas (indoor and outdoor) for the children; support areas such as kitchen, bakery, dining room, and laundry; and FANA offices. There is dormitory space for the children, as well as a dormitory available for adopted persons who wish to return and volunteer to help at FANA.
Much of FANA’s support comes through the families who have adopted children from FANA. Friends of FANA groups have been created in many of the areas where the adopting families live. Those non-profit groups regularly raise money and donate equipment to FANA through events, and provide programs to help the children stay in touch with their Colombian heritage.

FANA website: http://www.fundacionfana.org/home.html

Welcome!

Matthew and Alissa Keil are in the process of adopting a baby from FANA in Bogota, Colombia. Over thirty years ago, Mercedes de Martinez, the Director and Founder of FANA (the Spanish acronym for the Foundation for the Assistance of Abandoned Children) opened her heart and home to give abandoned children a chance at a fulfilling and healthy life. After three decades of work, dedication and love, FANA today has a modern facility with up-to-date medical care, staff and equipment capable of caring for 150 children. Because of FANA, over 10,000 children have found nurturing homes with fine families all over the world.
Alissa was adopted from FANA at the age of two months old and was one of the first to be adopted from the agency. Alissa is the oldest of six adopted children in her family, two brothers from FANA and two brothers and a sister through domestic adoptions.
Matthew and Alissa currently live in Texas with their dog, Yuri, and work at NASA Johnson Space Center. They are hoping to someday soon grow their family and share their love and care with a child. They have established this blog so friends and family can join them on their journey.