Background
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Bordering the Caribbean Sea between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Ecuador and Panama, Colombia is situated in the northernmost part of the continent of South America. Today, almost 40 million people call Colombia home. The population of Colombia is descended from three racial groups – Indian, blacks, and whites – that have mingled throughout the past 500 years. Recognizing the impossibility of objective racial classification and not wishing to emphasize ethnic or racial differences, the national census of Colombia dropped references to race after 1918 – an achievement decades ahead of most other nations.
A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian government escalated during the 1990s, financed in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence can be deadly at times, the movement apparently lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government.
In 2004, Americans adopted 287 children from Colombia. Some of the children available for international adoption in Colombia live in orphanages, while others are in foster care. Infants only a few months old are available for international adoption from Colombia. Furthermore, there are many sibling groups available for international adoption from Colombia. Many children in Colombia are abandoned by single parents who simply cannot afford to feed them, or who must work to survive and cannot afford child care while they work.
Credits: The International Adoption Guidebook, © Mary M. Strickert
