A woman who was handed a new-born baby at a funeral has spoken out about the incredible bond they now share, as she launches an appeal to help her dream come true, by asking members of the public to help her raise enough to pay the adoption fees.
Emilie Larter was just 22-years-old and fresh out of university when she decided to take up a two-month volunteer role at a children's home in Uganda.
She told the Mirror: "My duties were straightforward - as the only volunteer at the time, I was doing as much as I could for the children. I changed nappies, organised feeds and played with them. I loved it.
"Then, after I'd been there only a month, there was a phone call saying there was a newborn baby in desperate need. With no information, apart from where to go, we jumped on motorbikes and sped off to a village called Butagaya, about an hour away."
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When Emilie and the others arrived at the village they saw that a funeral was going on. A woman had died, leaving behind seven children, the youngest being a baby boy who was just five days old.
With no one to look after he was handed over to the staff at the home. Emilie said that as soon as she saw him, she fell in love and it was here that her life would change forever.
They took in the tiny baby and named him Adam. Quickly, Emilie became his sole carer, meaning the bond between them grew even stronger. Despite being so young and having to spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week with Adam, Emilie said it was never burden, in fact she believes it was a 'privilege'. What a wonderful woman?
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Life was hard for the pair. They had no running water or electricity and Emilie struggled to get formula for him. They were also plagued by mosquitos who would leave them both with bites and blisters.
Emilie told the paper: "It was stressful, but I loved it. I could sit and watch Adam for hours. I extended my stay for two months. He would cry if I wasn't around and loved being held. Everyone told me to keep emotionally detached, but I'd grown as attached to him as he was to me."
After a few months, Emilie had to return to the UK for her graduation, but she couldn't bear to be parted from him and returned soon after. Following this there was several months of going and back forth between the UK and Uganda. Until one day when Emilie received a phone call from the home Adam lived at telling her he was sick. She called her dad and told him: "I can't keep doing this. I want to be over there with him."
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Luckily for Emilie she's had nothing but support from her folks, so they fully backed her when she made the move to Uganda and began looking at formally adopting. They even began calling Adam their grandson. Bloody hell, is someone chopping onions?
Emilie found a full-time teaching job in Uganda and began the process of adoption. However, the little family were struck by a devastating blow when the school Emilie was teaching at made cutbacks and she found herself out of work. With no money, Emilie is unable to continue with the adoption.
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She has now taken a full-time voluntary teaching position at the school Adam goes to, in exchange for his fees. And she's now taken to gofundme to hopefully raise enough money to pay the adoption fees and make them an official family.
She said: "Adam has brought more joy into my life than I could have imagined. I'll do whatever it takes to become his mum. I'm determined to stay here until something comes up. I can't imagine my future without him. Adam is my life."
I really hope it all works out for this pair.
If you'd like to help you can donate via this gofundmepage.
Featured Image Credit: gofundme/adoptingadam