Diana has been living with me since March, 2014. I met with the family and social work to Lilongwe agreed that she stays with me until she is healthy and strong enough to go back to her village. Because it goes very well with Diana, I asked a few months ago Grandma when they Diana wanted to have back in the village. But the grandmother kept saying she did not want Diana back. Grandma is old and has several orphans to care for. She had this year only a small corn harvest is very poor. She does not have enough food to feed the other children so she decided it was better that Diana would live somewhere else.
Family ties are very strong in Malawi and last week something happened very unexpectedly. Someone from the family decided it was time for Diana to come back to her village. The grandmother was walking to my house and told me that she came to pick up Diana. I was shocked, was angry and sad at the same time, but unfortunately also have to respect the choice of the family, so I grabbed a bag of clothes, soap, a blanket and some food. Diana is not the first child which, lived after a time with me to have, Going back to her native village, but this time it was very difficult because I know that Diana's grandmother did not want her back. I've put all the stuff in the car and we left.
Saying goodbye was extremely difficult. Immediately when Diana saw that I left she started to cry. She kept calling me and told her grandmother that she wanted to bring back home with mom. I cried all the way back.
After a sleepless night I tried to call Diana's uncle to ask if they had already stopped crying. But the uncle was in town this week to try to earn some extra money. I made me enormously worried about Diana, but could do nothing but pray for her.
A few hours later my phone rang, Diana's grandmother had borrowed a phone from someone to call me. Diana had not slept and had not stopped crying from the moment I left. All they said was that they wanted to return to her mom.
When the family saw Diana was attached to me, Diana decided she now let me. Diana was tremendously sick when they 2014 arrived at the hospital. Without my help she would not be alive right now. The family felt that Diana was not good to bring back to the village and asked me to adopt Diana officially.
I love all my children and they love me. When I could not sleep because I was so concerned about Diana, They sat me. They told me, "our mom could not sleep so we will not sleep". Then I cried because I missed so Diana, She cried with me. They told me, "If mama is not happy we are not happy".
I thank God every day for the wonderful family he has given me.
Love,
Nicole
