It looks like an ordinary photo, but if you look closer, you’ll freeze. Emily Larter, a 29-year-old Worcestershire woman, first met Adam when he was just two days old. She began the arduous process of adopting him and relocating him to the United Kingdom. The pair has returned home after five years of legal bills and court hearings. Her shy son has gained legions of followers online after being featured on the morning show sofa.
A British woman has revealed she spent five years adopting a child she met in a Ugandan orphanage during her gap year when she was 22. Emily Larter, a 29-year-old primary school teacher from Worcestershire who lives with her adopted son Adam, six, spoke on the ITV show today. She described how she traveled to Uganda in 2014 to volunteer. Only a few days into her journey, she began caring for a five-day-old baby named Adam whose mother had tragically died shortly after his birth. Emily fell in love with him right away and began the long process of adopting him and bringing him back to the UK.
The pair has finally returned home after five years of high legal bills and many court appearances. Viewers quickly fell in love with shy Adam, who could be seen hiding beneath a cushion and resting his eyes. One remarked, “Adam lying about on the sofas is just what we all need right now,” while another said, “Make yourself at home, Adam.”
Emily spoke about her five-year battle to adopt a Ugandan child who was placed in her arms at just two days old when she was on a gap year working at an orphanage. Emily began caring for a five-day-old baby named Adam whose mother had sadly passed away shortly after his birth just days into her journey in 2014. “Adam is how I feel every Friday tbh,” a third said, while a fourth commented, “All I want to do is give Adam a pillow and a blanket so he can snuggle up.”
Emily told broadcasters Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond about her decision to volunteer in Uganda in 2014. “I’d been traveling a lot before that, and when I went there, it was the beginning of many planned vacations,” she said. “I volunteered at an orphanage a few weeks in, something I wouldn’t necessarily do again now, but I wasn’t aware of the drawbacks at the time. After a few weeks, we were summoned to go pick up a baby boy whose mother had passed away, and it was this one. I don’t regret it at all. Obviously, it got me here, but I’ve just seen how it negatively influences the children, volunteers coming and going,” Emily remarked when asked why she wouldn’t volunteer again.
Allison then inquired as to whether they had formed an instant relationship. Emily said, “I did. At the time, the charity director asked if I could be his one-to-one caregiver because the orphanage had a lot of children, and he needed a lot more intensive care as a newborn baby. I agreed and grew attached very quickly.” Emily was 22 at the time, and Adam was just five days old. “I believe it came fairly immediately,” Emily said when Dermot asked if she had any idea what to do. “I’m already quite maternal. I said if I don’t know anything, I’d phone my mother, and the charity director had a baby a few months older than me, so I was thrown in at the deep end, but I just went with it.”
Emily was scheduled to stay for two months, but she ended up staying for seven and a half. She had to return to the UK after that period. “I didn’t have any money,” she admitted. “I didn’t think I could keep volunteering indefinitely. I had no choice, so I returned to the UK, but I crammed as many jobs as I could into my schedule, and I made as many visits to Adam as I could. Even when he was a small baby, I knew it would be difficult to say goodbye,” she continued. “But I didn’t see it as an option that I could adopt him. I just didn’t see it as a possibility. Everyone has a very different experience out there; mine was very unlucky,” Emily said of the adoption procedure.
“Just before he turned two, I moved out to adopt him. You have to foster for a year before you can apply to adopt, but something always went wrong with us, whether it was missing paperwork, court dates being canceled, or names being misspelled on paperwork. It was just one thing after another. The adoption process in Uganda took three years, and we stayed in Uganda for a total of four and a half years before returning. The whole thing was difficult, and then COVID came along. There was a lockdown, and everything was closed on the day of his passport appointment. As a result, there are now even greater delays.”
Emily described the moment she and Adam arrived at Birmingham Airport and were picked up by her parents, whom Adam had been corresponding with for years but had never met in person. “It was emotional, but I had also been imagining it for so long, so it seemed strange that it was actually happening. He gets along swimmingly with them.” In terms of the procedure, host Dermot O’Leary stated that now that he’s heard, Emily will essentially have to start over. “I do,” she admitted. “Even though he’s here on a visa—he’s got a visa to stay here, he’s got a visa to go to school, utilize health care, and everything—I’m not legally recognized as his mother in this country. I’ll have to go through the entire adoption procedure all over again. I’ve enlisted the help of social workers and other professionals, and we’re preparing a court application. But because he’s here with me, I’m not as concerned.”
Emily set up a GoFundMe website to help her adopt Adam, but she only expected friends and family to contribute. “But then it really took off. I had no intention of asking for money, but I’d gone out there and gotten a job in an international school, only to lose it after a few months. Someone suggested I make one because I had no idea what I was going to do, so I did, and it went horribly wrong. We couldn’t have done it without the aid of a lot of individuals who follow me on social media and other platforms.” When asked about his mother, Adam, who was hiding under a pillow, replied, “I prefer sleeping with my mummy.”
Adoption can be a challenging process at times, but the ultimate result is well worth the effort. Bringing your child home for the first time might be a surreal experience as you realize the journey is finally coming to an end. While there will always be a learning curve when it comes to adoption, there are many things to be grateful for. Take a look at these five ways that adoption can improve your life:
- Children are a lot of fun. Having a child at home is one of life’s most reassuring experiences. With their laughs, smiles, and never-ending inquisitive questions, children can offer a whole new sense of wonder to a home. With their constant demand for attention and instruction, children make life exciting and full to the brim. It is true that in a home with a child, there is always something going on. For many prospective adoptive parents who have never had children, the adjustment from a quiet home to one filled with sounds and laughter might be a welcome one. Don’t get us wrong; as a parent, you will have to discipline your child at times, but overall, children provide joy for life that is difficult to match.
- Your parenting style will alter. Parenting a child may appear simple if you already have children. Even the most prepared or experienced parents will find that they must change and develop alongside their adopted child. You can’t parent an adopted child with a different background in the same manner you would a biological child. Each child is unique, requiring you to be adaptable in your parenting style. This actually improves your life by allowing you to grow as a person and as a parent.
- You’ll develop a greater sense of empathy. As much as we hope that prior trauma or abuse would have no lasting repercussions on our adopted children, it is normal for them to battle with challenges from their past long after they’ve returned home. One of the finest ways to learn more about individuals in the world who have suffered from past hurts is to comfort your child and tell them about their new life in your family. As you assist your child in growing and breaking free from parts of their history, you’ll gain a new perspective on the world and see that many children—not only adopted children—face challenges that go unrecognized.
- Be a source of inspiration for others. While you may not want your family to be an example on some days, folks in your community will always remember you as the family who adopted a kid. This can really be beneficial to you since you can demonstrate to others that love knows no bounds and that adoption is beneficial to many children. Giving a kid a place in your heart and home demonstrates to others that they too can choose adoption for their own family because you had the bravery to do so.
- You’ll recognize the parallels. As an adoptive parent, you’ll begin to discover traits in your child that you and your spouse share. There will be things they say, looks they make, and other qualities that are strikingly similar to your own. Not everything will be the same with an adopted child, but there will be some little similarities that will surprise you about your adopted child’s connections. This is one of the unsaid ways in which adoption unites a family despite the lack of physical resemblance. It’s reassuring for an adoptive parent to discover that you and your child are far more alike than you first assumed.
