“I have always wanted to adopt, to provide a home to a child in need,” James tells us when we visit him and his family. “I was abandoned when I was 6 years old and I grew up under someone’s care. A family took care of me and I am forever grateful.”
James is an agriculturalist and a pastor in his community and his wife, Norah is a kindergarten teacher. They have dedicated their lives to nurturing the younger generation in their community through their work. “It is my joy to see children grow up safe and happy,” he smiles as he tells us why he decided to adopt.
Adoption is a big decision, and James and Norah wanted to make sure their seven children were on board. “My wife and I discussed and prayed about it, then we sat down and talked to our children. My girls wanted a girl, the boys are only two and they wanted a boy to play football with,” James says fondly.
The couple expressed interest to adopt and after an assessment was carried out by the Child’s i team in Tororo, the couple were approved to adopt by a Government panel. After a couple of months, their wait was over and James and Norah were matched with Allan. “We received a lot of preparation and training from our social worker they held our hands throughout the process,” James told us.
Most adoptive parents shy away from adopting older children, but not James and Norah. They wanted to adopt an older child. “Allan is 10 years old, he fits right in, in our family,” James smiles, “we knew we could make a real difference to an older child.”
“I will never forget the day we met Allan. It was on a Friday. My wife and I visited him at the orphanage and had a beautiful day together, we took lots of pictures and came back with them to show our children. They loved him instantly and kept asking us when he would come home,” he laughs heartily.
It has been a couple of months since Allan found his forever family and his dad says he was bonded well with the family. “He has grown very close to his siblings and especially close to Joel, my second last-born. They are inseparable.”
