The government, through the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, has acted decisively against an American adoption agency for what it termed as serious criminal activities and mismanagement.
The Americans for African Adoptions (AFAA) and its affiliate, Cradle of Hope, an orphanage, are involved in serious child abuse and welfare violations as uncovered in a sweeping police investigation. The government has revoked the operation licenses of the orphanage and the adoption agency permanently.
In a letter dated February 19, 2024, which contents are still concealed from the public, the Ministry of Gender, informed AFAA’s Country Director, Ms. Oretha James, that the adoption agency’s accreditation and sector clearance were being revoked for “widespread abuse and neglect” based on the report by the Liberia National Police.
“After a careful review of the investigative report from the Liberia National Police and legal opinions from within the Ministry’s legal arm, regarding the allegations of ‘Rape/Endangering the Welfare of Children involving Thirty (30) Children at Americans for African Adoption Orphanage,’ your accreditation and sector clearance are hereby revoked permanently in accordance with Article X, Subsection 15 of the Children Law of 2011,” Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie wrote in her February 19, letter.
The Minister’s letter continued, “In view of the results of the police investigation and the subsequent indictments and ongoing prosecutions of the most senior management team of AFAA, along with some of your local staff, it is the carefully considered decision of the Ministry that it is no longer in the best interests and safety of Liberian children for Americans for African Adoptions Inc./Cradle of Hope to operate or run any adoption facility or orphanage.”
Min. Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie’s February 19, 2024, letter to Ms. Oretha James’s revoking AFAA accreditation and sector clearance.
According to the police report, four AFAA orphanage staff members routinely forced children in their care to “lift chairs above their heads for extended periods” and subjected them to beatings using wooden cooking spoons. The report added that the actions of AFAA staff endangered the welfare of Liberian children and violated the country’s child protection laws.
Additionally, the police found that AFAA “deliberately failed” to report sexual abuse occurring within the orphanage. Staff members were aware of the abuse but declined to take action or report it, enabling a “pattern of continued abuse.”
“Given the foregoing, the investigation hereby recommends the following: that suspects Elizabeth Gotta, Felecia Brooks, Garmai Nabin Galima, and Martha P. Philips, for the act of repeatedly subjecting children at AFAA Orphanage to physical punishment, be formally charged with the crime of ‘Subjecting a Child to Harmful Practices,’ an act which contravenes Section 16.15(e) of the Children Act of 2011, and sent to court for prosecution,” the police wrote in their report.
“That suspects Elizabeth Gotta, Felecia Brooks, and Garmai Nabin Galima, for their deliberate failure to report acts of sexual abuse among the children at AFAA Orphanage, which they were sufficiently knowledgeable about, be formally charged with the crime of ‘Failure to Report Child Abuse or Neglect by a Parent or Service Provider,’ an act which contravenes Section 16.9 of the Children Act,” the police added.
The police report, which has led to the indictment of several AFAA staff members as outlined above, has surprisingly not been released by the Ministry of Gender for a year now, nor has the Ministry published the revocation letter of the U.S.-based adoption agency or provided updates on the prosecution of individuals implicated in the scandal.
What makes this even more concerning is that international bodies may still list AFAA as a viable adoption entity in Liberia and allow unsuspecting adopting parents to engage them, some advocates of children’s rights have said. This, they believe, is not good for Liberia and, as the Minister of Gender said in her Revocation Letter, it is also not in the best interests of Liberian children.
AFAA and its partner, Cradle of Hope, which the Ministry of Gender says received accreditation to run an “adoption facility” in Liberia on May 4, 2023, found themselves in hot water by December 2023, as a result of a report from the U.S. Embassy alleging serial child abuse, welfare violations, and other allegations of sexual misconduct at the orphanage. The U.S. allegations, on which the police built their investigation, arose from complaints received from adoptive parents.
Some of these allegations were serious enough that they led to adopted children being put in counseling after they had successfully been adopted and settled in with their new families in the U.S.
Sources say the allegations, which the U.S. considered very serious, were among the key reasons visa appointments at the U.S. embassy for adopting parents and adoption agencies were slowed. As a result, many potential adoptive parents were caught in limbo, as AFAA and Cradle of Hope failed to inform them of the suspension.
It was only after months of pressure that adoptive parents learned from the Ministry of Gender that AFAA and its affiliates had been suspended and subsequently had their accreditation revoked. And, even after the parents learned about AFAA’s suspension, AFAA allegedly still misled the parents about the true nature of the suspension and the status of the ongoing investigation and when AFAA believed the suspension would be lifted.
The police report noted that while it “did not establish elements constituting rape,” between AFAA staff and children, it nonetheless uncovered a pattern of neglect and abuse at the AFAA orphanage. The police also found that rooms at the orphanage were “not strategically positioned to prevent unwanted and unhealthy interactions between boys and girls, especially during the night.”
“On the other hand, the outdoor environment of the AFAA house is not child-friendly and has the potential to cause injury or harm to any of the kids,” the report noted. “Based upon the investigative analysis of the circumstances surrounding this case, coupled with the evidence adduced, the investigation resolved to state that, as for the crime of ‘rape,’ no elements constituting the crime were uncovered.”
“However, on the count of child physical abuse, the investigation established strong corroboration and consistency among testimonies provided by a majority of the victims,” the police added. “Consistent with Section 2 of the Children’s Act of 2011, the Ministry of Gender shall ensure, through supervision, that the administration of the Americans for African Adoptions Orphanage ceases.”
Despite the damning report, sources at the Ministry of Gender say AFAA seriously lobbied the Ministry for reinstatement, but the Ministry downplayed the request and moved on to permanently revoke AFAA’s operating permit. AFAA argued that it provides critical adoption services and that it had taken sufficient corrective measures based on the police findings.
However, it is yet unclear what these measures are, other than allegedly arranging a new rental facility for the children. The Ministry, in its February 19 letter, clearly states that all other indictees of AFAA, including its country director, Oretha James, and top officials, including Cheryl Carter-Shotts, have been “permanently banned from working on adoption, childcare, orphanages, or related services in Liberia,” except in cases where they are acquitted.
According to Minister Kollie, as part of measures to care for children previously in the care of AFAA, cases will be evaluated for potential completion by private lawyers working directly on behalf of the parents, and other orphans with no pre-adoptive parents would “be reunified with their natural parents or be retained at the Ministry’s safe home pending reunification”.
However, it remains unclear if any of these measures have been undertaken, as the Ministry has not published or announced anything since the closure of AFAA. Concerns from stakeholders so far include whether the U.S. Embassy will assist the Liberian government in returning Cheryl Carter-Schotts for prosecution if requested by the Liberian government and whether AFAA will ever be allowed to conduct adoptions or process cases with the U.S. embassy.
Meanwhile, officials of AFAA have been unreachable for comment. The organization’s Country Director, Oretha James, locked her Facebook page from public access and their website, Africanadoptions.org, is offline.
