When he saw the big group of Americans, he wasn’t too sure. He shed a few tears, and he clung to his nanny’s hand. He was relieved to hear that she was going with us, so he mustered up his courage and came along. After a half an hour on the bus with us, he soon realized we were harmless. And he began to let his guard down, just a bit. Little by little, he let more down, and showed us the incredibly sweet, charming boy that he is over the course of the next few days. It wasn’t our intention to cause him stress, but we knew that we may be his only chance of having a voice.
We may be his only chance for the world to know how truly incredible he is.
Some of the orphanage workers call him ˜alien.’ They say he looks ˜so weird.’ There are snickers and sneers to his face and behind his back day in and day out. When we finally got his file, some people asked if we would return it because of the life expectancy of people with his disorder. Why would we even try to place him? Why? I’ll tell you why. Because he is a beautiful, sweet, kind, deserving boy, filled with more life than many ˜healthy’ people I know. His smile will warm your heart, and his love of art is endearing. Benjamin is just like any other boy, but because he looks different, he is not usually treated as such. Benjamin deserves a chance. He deserves a life. He deserves to be loved and not laughed at. He deserves to live each day to the fullest, despite his prognosis.
He deserves a family who will surround him with love, joy, and laughter WITH him, not laughter at him.
Benjamin is available for adoption through Madison Adoption Associates. He is seven-years-old and recently participated in an Ambassadors of Hope program. Benjamin’s file states he is diagnosed with Rickets and hernia, though, it is suspected that Benjamin also has Progeria. There is a $5,000 Bright Futures grant available for the family who adopts Benjamin.