PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF DOMESTIC ADOPTION IN ADAMA CITY Print

Heran Ejara[1], Nega Jibat[2]

Abstract

Adoption is a childcare and protection measure that enables an unaccompanied child to benefit from a substitute and permanent family care; it can be either domestic or inter-country. This study examined perceptions and practices of domestic adoption in Adama City in Oromia/Ethiopia. Interviews and document review were used in gathering information. Six (6) adoptive parents and thirteen (13) other community members participated in in-depth interviews and six (6) key informant interviews were made with staffs of three adoption agencies. Narrative analysis technique was employed. The study reveals that people’s perception towards adoption practice, adoptive parents and children is mixed; it could be positive and encouraging or negative and discouraging. Personal, religious and moral reasons are major sources of justification for those who adopt children whereas few of them centrally focus on meeting needs and interests of the child. Fear of property inheritance by the adoptive child in the future is the most important factor for people who refrain from adopting children. Banning inter-country adoption by the government of Ethiopia as of January 2018 while there are sizable children in need of substitute and permanent family care proves the necessity of cultivating domestic adoption practices and revitalizing Guddifachaa which is customary alternative childcare practice originated among the Oromo and widely accepted across the country.

Kewords: Domestic adoption, Guddifachaa, Adoptive parents, Adoptive children, Adama

[1] Heran Ejara, is a lecturer of Sociology at Jimma University, Ethiopia. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
 

[2] Nega Jibat is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Jimma University, Ethiopia. e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cite this article:
Ejara Heran, Jibat Nega. PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF DOMESTIC ADOPTION IN ADAMA CITY. Innovative Issues and Approaches in Social Sciences, vol.12, no.3:53-73, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2019-no3-art4

Digital Object Identifier(DOI): http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2019-no3-art4

View full text in pdf: http://www.iiass.com/pdf/IIASS-2019-no3-art4.pdf

 

 

We use cookies to improve our website and your experience when using it. Cookies used for the essential operation of the site have already been set. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, see our privacy policy.

I accept cookies from this site.

More information