How To Adopt A Child In Kenya

[narrator] in a backpew of a small churchin washington state, sits a mother of two... and a hero to ahundred children. ♪ [congrgation singing] ♪ it all began in 2001, when jilmameneses took a church

How To Adopt A Child In Kenya, mission trip to thedemocratic republic of congo. ♪ [kids singing] ♪ she volunteered at the unitedmethodist-supported orphanage called jamaa letu - whichis swahili for "our family."

[jilma meneses] i said to theorphanage director, "you know, you need to consider an adoptionprogram, these children have to go somewhere, eventually." she said "why don't you start byadoption one of our children?" [narrator] with the blessing ofher husband and daughter, jilma did just that. by adopting gracia, shegained a precious daughter - and a calling. [jilma meneses] soon after thatwe started our family adoptions.

our goal is to raise awarenessabout congo and to bring resources to these orphanages. and one way we get thereis through adoption. [narrator] jilma is an attorneywho works from a home office - for free - helping u.s. families navigate the adoption process. this way, more dollars godirectly to the orphans and those suffering fromcongo's civil war, corruption and poverty. [jilma] bonjour,pastor loma, ca va.

[narrator] thanks to technology,jilma and her family keep in close contact with thosewho run orphanages in congo. [jilma] she isabout a month old. [narrator] jilma can see theresults of her hard work on the other side of the world... and right in herown community... [jane lovelady] it'sbeen wonderful. [narrator] ...where many ofthe adopted children now live. [chris roberts] it's changedour lives immensely."

[steve webb] he's just a joy. [narrator] to date, our familyadoptions has helped connect nearly 100 congolese orphanswith loving families. [lisa webb] we'll just beforever indebted to jilma and what she's done. it's an amazing legacythat she'll leave. [narrator] jilma has a demandingfull-time job and is the mother of two teenage girls. in her "spare time" jilmais changing the world.

[jilma] i want these childrento have an opportunity. that's what drives me. and, yes, the next morning imight go with bags under my eyes to work and i might have threeextra cups of coffee instead of just one, but it's worth it. it's worth every minute becausethese children, they need us.