Haitian orphans coming home early to waiting Springs parents

Haitian orphans bound for Colorado Springs could be joining their new families in a matter of days instead of months.

About 15 local families who are adopting Haitian orphans were busy preparing their households Monday for the early arrival of their children.

“We were not expecting this,” said adoptive dad Ken Ellson, “but we are overjoyed. This is the first I’ve been able to talk about it without breaking down in tears.”

Ken and Bev Ellson, of Colorado Springs, had expected to wait 14 more months for 12-year-old Samantha, who is at Maison des Enfants de Dieu orphanage near Port-au-Prince.

Haitian adoptions typically take 18 months to three years to complete. But with chaos erupting and resources taxed following the earthquake in Haiti, U.S. and Haitian authorities are working to bring adopted children home as early as this week, sources say.

The Haitian government has issued parole visas to most of the Haitian orphans with adoptive families in the U.S. The children need to be transported to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti to be processed by the State Department before leaving the country, said Sen. Mark Udall’s office.

But agencies are having difficulty getting the children to the embassy, Udall spokeswoman Jennifer Sisk said in a statement.

“The senator’s No. 1 priority is getting the children to a safe location, with food, water and medical supplies,” she said. “From this location, we can centralize the evacuation by plane and get the children out in a safe, quick and orderly process.”

Sue Hedberg, director of Celebrate Children International in Oviedo, Fla., which handles many U.S.-Haitian adoptions, said damaged roads and battered infrastructure are hampering transportation efforts.

“At this time, we are not sure when the children will be leaving for the U.S. or when they’ll arrive,” Hedberg said. “But we expect this to happen very shortly.”

Colorado has a disproportionately high number of parents adopting from Haiti. Of the 300 U.S. families adopting Haitian children, about 50 are from Colorado, according to the State Department, including roughly 15 families in Colorado Springs.

The Ellsons’ relatives have donated a day bed and clothes for Samantha. On Monday, the Ellsons were shopping for Haitian food to help her in the cultural transition.

Gregg and Melissa Nowlin, who are adopting 9-year-old Mariah and 11-year-old Swolbee from Maison des Enfants, were busy cleaning house and setting up extra beds Monday.

“It’s all pretty exciting,” Gregg Nowlin said.

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