BY HARPER HASS, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD-- Muluken Hass goes up to home plate and gets ready for the pitch. A few years ago his life changed big time, he was adopted by Chris and Tricia Hass and their family in 2007, now he loves baseball, sports and his iPhone 5s.
Adoption process
The Hass family had moved to South Carolina not long before they added a new member to their family. They adopted Muluken Christopher Hass in July of 2007 from a country in Africa called Ethiopia. He was only 6 years old.
The adoption process is very long and complicated.
The adoption process can be very stressful, parents waiting for paperwork to be processed, social workers coming to interview and check the house. You have to go to many government offices for documents, and have background checks done. There's also a waiting game involved, you have to wait for your documents, the agency and many other things to be completed before you can bring your child home.
"First you have to pick an adoption agency and begin filling out a lot of paperwork. You meet with a social worker and complete a home study where they review all the paperwork completed, visit your home and interview you and all the people living in the house. They want to make sure the adopted child is coming into a good home. Then you wait to be matched with a child and for all the official paperwork and court appearances to be completed by the government in Ethiopia and us immigration. Then you can travel to pick up your child," Tricia Hass, mother of Muluken, describes the adoption process
The Hass' had the adoption agency choose the child they felt would be the best fit for their family. Both parents have the statement that you can't choose your child.
"The adoption agency wanted us to look at photos and files on a number of different kids and choose one. That didn't feel right. How do you choose a child? Worse yet, how do you not choose other children. So we told the agency to match us with the child they felt would best fit our family," Chris Hass, father of Muluken, says.
"You can’t choose your biological child, so we asked the agency to choose the child they felt would be the best fit for us," Mrs. Hass says on how they choose muluken for adoption.
They traveled to Ethiopia to bring Muluken home.
"I didn't really say much," Muluken, says as he remembers meeting Chris and Tricia for the first time
When they were still in Ethiopia having adopted Muluken, Mr. Hass and Muluken where playing soccer in a parking lot and a monkey jumped out of the trees and landed on Mrs. Hass' shoulder. Needless to say they freaked out. This is one story that the family tells often, it being repeated many times in the past years.
Coming home
Muluken was brought home in July of 2007, he was only 6 years old. He had a fascination with buttons, he pressed every button he could find. He did not know much english but that changed very fast.
“It really wasn't that hard because I was 6 but I still was fascinated about everything and I would touch everything everywhere we went. I also learned english really really fast,” Muluken says on adjusting to living with his new family.
Mr. and Mrs. Hass prepared for Muluken coming home by reading books, talking to their children about what to expect and gathered toys and supplies.
“We prepared the kids for welcoming home a new brother and got clothes, toys etc,” Mrs. Hass says.
Muluken’s first memory of being adopted is when they are meeting in a office near the orphanage.
“The memory that comes up is when My adoptive parents and this man and me went in a small building right by the orphanage and we all sat at desk or a table with adoptive parents on each side of me and the man across from me,”
Muluken says, remembering when he was adopted.
The Hass Family
Now Muluken has lived with the family for 8 years. He’s a huge part of the family.
The family feels as though this adoption and their previous adoption process has been successful. The family had adopted another son three years prior, their son Ty Juan Lopez.
“Yes, we adopted Ty from Guatemala in 2004. The process was very similar, but Ty was 8 months old when he came home,” Mrs. Hass says, talking about the adoption of her other son Ty.
They feel that this adoption went very good, they gained a new family member.
“I think it turned out well. We have a great family and I can’t imagine our family any other way,” Mrs. Hass says commenting on their experience adopting Muluken.
Muluken loves his new family, he feels that it was a good thing. He has friends, family and his sports.
“Yes I love them because they're my family and they adopted me,” Muluken says this about his family. “ I got a better life and another family.”
He feels that he was affected by this but it hasn't change how he lives too much.
“I don’t think I do because people think it's really cool and want me to talk about it all the time.”
