Our daughter (hopefully)

Here is a little bit of information about the little girl who will hopefully become our daughter! (God willing)  The Ugandan government is very strict about what is put on the internet about their children, so I am being purposefully vague here, and I cannot post any pictures.  Once the guardianship is approved, I will be happy to tell you so much more about her!

Her name is Rehema, and she is almost 2 years old; she will turn two on the date two days before Emerson turns four!  Her name is pronounced Re-HAY-ma.  Her village is not far outside of Kampala, which is the capital city, in which she now lives.

Her birth mother, besides being impoverished, was also disabled, which is why she was unable to care for her daughter.  Rehema entered the orphanage when she was 15 months old.  Her father is known and lives in the same village, but has not provided any support for the child.  This is very important to us, that both parents knew about and agreed to place the child for adoption.

So far, she appears to have a very quiet and watchful personality.  She was very small when she entered the orphanage, but she has gained weight appropriately, and she has no other health problems.  She speaks a few words, walks and climbs, and is kind and helpful with the smaller children.

The orphanage is run directly (albeit at a very long distance!) by the agency here in Oregon, so they work very hard to use the best practices known for the children.  There are about 20 children and 5 caregivers.  The children are given good food to eat, have grass and play equipment outside, have their health monitored by a doctor, and receive any medications that could be necessary.   We are glad to know that she is being taken care of as well as possible during this long wait, which will soon be half of her young life!

(This is not actually a picture of our daughter at all; we are not allowed to post pictures.  But this shows how excited our son is to be a big brother!)