International adoption is an enduring and complex process that prospective adoptive parents take on with the goal of a successful adoption. Fortunately, Nightlight has many international adoption programs that prospective families can choose from that best fits their family dynamics. The Bulgaria program is a great program for families to consider as the requirements for prospective adoptive parents are minimal and less strict. The adoption process in Bulgaria has two routes that families can pursue. The first route is the traditional adoption process where a family completes their paperwork, register their dossier in country and wait to be matched by the central authority, the Ministry of Justice. The second route is the waiting child program where families can review children’s profiles and apply to adopt a specific child or sibling group.
The wait times in this program can vary based on the prospective adoptive parent’s openness to developmental, medical and psychological needs and the characteristics of the child such as age, gender and number of children. The waiting child program is significantly faster than the traditional route of adoption from Bulgaria because you are cutting out that timeframe it takes to be matched by pursuing a specific child from the waiting list. A family pursuing a waiting child from Bulgaria could have their process completed from start to finish in 12-15 months. The waiting child program is commonly advocating for children with severe special needs that are 5 years and younger as well as sibling groups up to four children. We have many single children that are over the age of 12 that are clinically healthy. If you are interested in learning more about the waiting children that we are advocating for, please take a look at our child advocacy website www.adoptionbridge.org/waiting-children
In May there are many holidays that is observed in Bulgaria. May 1st is Labour Day or Solidarity Day which is similar to the meaning of Labor Day here in the U.S. and that is to simply have a day of rest and gather with family. May 6th is St. George’s Day – Day of Valour and of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. Celebrations, military parades and ceremonies are held across the country and in honor of St. George, the patron saint of soldiers across Slavic cultures. Lastly, May 24th is the Day of the Saintly Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and of Slavic Literature. This holiday is one of Bulgaria’s biggest and most unique holidays. Bulgaria prides itself as the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet and large celebrations are held in front of the St. Cyril and St. Methodius monuments by the National Library of Sofia. Fun fact! Bulgaria is currently the only EU country that uses Cyrillic alphabet.
For the month of May, Nightlight is offering families a $600 grant if you apply to our Bulgaria program. If you would like to learn more about the Bulgaria program and how the adoption process is completed, please contact Gracie Trujillo at gracie@nightlight.org