From Abandoned In a Hospital to Embraced by Family
The day baby Gabriela was born, her mother left the hospital and didn’t return.
With no documents, no name, and a fake name on file for her birth mom, Gabriela was placed in an orphanage while the child protection office tried to understand her situation.
But our team at the Honduran child protection services office was determined to find a solution for her.
Our social worker spent hours researching names in the register of people, cross-checking similar names, ages, and towns she could be from. She was able to come up with a short list of leads, and our team spent four days visiting neighborhoods that matched those leads, hoping to find someone who could help connect us to the family.
On the fourth day of searching in different neighborhoods, we were finally able to locate the baby’s grandfather, who told us that his daughter, unfortunately, had little communication with their family and that her lifestyle had left her living limited by addiction and unstable relationships. He took us to meet one of his other daughters, who had been raising one of her sisters' daughters. They both expressed that the mom wasn’t capable of taking care of a child, and that, for different reasons, neither one of them would be capable of taking her in, but that as a family, they were going to come together to see if there was someone who would be able to take her in as their own.
A few days later, the family contacted our team to share that they had met as a family and that a cousin was completely willing to raise her. Angela is an incredibly strong woman who owns her own company and also works from home as a medical translator for a hospital in the United States. She, along with her husband and their teenage daughter, were all ecstatic about the idea of incorporating her into their family.
From there, our entire team supported each step.
Our psychologist met with each family member— psychologically evaluating each one, including Gabriela’s biological mother— and then all together, to help everyone understand their roles, establish healthy boundaries, and prepare Angela for caring for a baby. She oversaw the supervised visits with Gabriela and Angela, ensuring that the adjustment period went as smoothly as possible.
Our lawyer handled the tedious process of registering the baby to give her a name and identity. Gabriela Carolina is the name they gave her. She also oversaw DNA tests to ensure that Gabriela and Angela are related, as well as managed the legal process of the custody.
We are so happy to share that Gabriela is now living with Angela and her daughter, and they are completely in love and fully committed to making sure she grows up in a loving and thriving home.
Your support made it possible for our team to carry out each of these steps. Without this work, she likely would have remained in an orphanage for years, waiting for an uncertain and lengthy adoption process, and forever living unaware of who her family was.
Gabriela’s story is forever changed by our team's commitment to the vision of empowering and reuniting families and their dedication to finding a solution for every kid within their reach.
