VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE:

ZIMBABWEAN ADOPTEES: You can now apply for the "full" form of your birth certificate which is necessary when applying for foreign passports, and which frequently has your birthmother's name on it. You should inform the authorities that you wish to apply for a passport, and that you are adopted. Apparently this speeds up the process.

To start you on your journey or quest for the missing pieces of your puzzle of life, here's a summary of what can be found in this site. Explore, and may you find who or what you seek. You can navigate round the site by clicking on the text links or the buttons on the left. Search Tips Probably the best place to start. You will find names, addresses and ... tips on how to search! Why? At some point in their lives, one or more members of the adoption ring or triad feels the overwhelming urge to seek another. The reasons are many and varied, and some clues can be found here. Search Experiences "Learn by experience." Read about others' searches. You can also find out how the adoption triad members feel about their experiences. These are broken down into categories, and some stories may be repeated in more than one category, depending on their relevance. ( Adoptees / Adoptive parents / Birth Parents / Grandparents - the forgotten side of the triad / General Comments Detours and Links Here you'll find links to other useful Web sites and take a detour from this one. But, like the Boy Scouts, be prepared. Be prepared for anything. The quest follows an often rocky road, with many unforeseen obstacles and pitfalls. But if your heart is truly in the search, you may find what you seek. And that may not be what you expected! The Law and You This page gives some hopefully useful pointers as I have tried to include current adoption laws of some of the Southern African countries, so that you can check whether you are eligible to start a search for your child/parent. It is worth bearing in mind that some Government agencies will not open the adoption files, while others do not realise they are permitted to do so. Come on in, the search has just begun, and you will certainly find new friends on your journey back to your origins. This page gives a number of links to related pages. Feel free to navigate through them. If you get lost, Home is just a mouseclick away, but before you begin, please read just a bit more... and thank you! Oh, and please vote for this site, by clicking on the VOTE button at the bottom of this page. Some Frequently Asked Questions Why is this site so basic? I have deliberately left the design simple, with minimal graphics, to provide for those people who have older browsers and PCs,who have antiquated, slow phone lines, who have to use Internet cafes and pay by the minute, who have to use the facilities of friends or at work and therefore don't want to be on line for too long, or who just simply hate animations and frames!!! In addition, there are many websurfers out there who have autoimmune, visual or other disorders or impairments that make it impossible for them to use newer computers, or who have difficulty navigating a site with all the latest bells and whistles as well as lots of cute graphics, JAVA scripts, applets, etc. While many web owners address the differences between browsers and Mac vs. Windows, most seem not to realize or care about those still using older computers, or platforms such as UNIX or Linux. There are a huge number of disabled people and others who simply cannot upgrade their equipment as often as they would like. Since my site is all about providing information, its format and design is geared towards being easy to access and read for as many people as possible. Why are there so many flags? I have had complaints from people that I was being biased, showing some old and some new flags. So I've added every flag I can find! Finally, many of you have asked why I run this site. The answer can be found here.

Important Notes of Caution

• I would like to emphasise that it is most unwise for bparents and adoptees or aparents to meet each other without receiving counselling first. There are other people involved as well: siblings, partners and so on who are also affected, and the sudden appearance of a possibly unknown member of the family can cause tremendous disruption.