When Adreinne and Johan Mellisen traveled from their home in Canada to Sierra Leone, they were simply planning to help out at the local school and the medical clinic. But a month after their arrival, they met Mariama.

In a March 4 article on BCLocalNews.com, Justine Drummond described what happened next:

[Mariama] was 16 weeks old when her aunts brought her to their doorstep.

"They handed me a note which said, "This girls mother is dead,'" Adrienne says. ... "When she came to live with us, she was 11 months and 11 pounds," Johan says.

As they nursed her back to health, the Melissens knew Mariama's chance for survival in Sierra Leone was bleak.

"She didnt have any future," Johan says. It was then the Melissens considered adoption. ...

Mariama was ultimately granted Canadian citizenship, and on Nov. 5, her new parents brought her home for the first time.

Labels: international, orphans, Canada, sierra leone

Posted By: Aspen/CRC