Girl Sent Back to Orphanage After Foster Mother's Pregnancy

A 3-year-old orphan girl in Egypt was sent back to the orphanage after the mother who adopted her discovered that she is pregnant. The incident not only shocked Egyptians but Arabs. 

Yomna Dahrouj- one of the founders of the idea of adoption in Egypt- has appeared in a video that went viral on social media crying after a childless family decided to return the 3-year-old girl to the orphanage house after the mother turned out to be pregnant.

Translation: "In short, to all people who think adoption as a simple thing and they are only affected by T.V. series, once they try it for real, they end up abusing innocent children. I think they are no less criminals than the ones who abandon their kids in the first place."

Dahrouj said during the 2 minutes video that the child is near her daughter’s age, 3, clueless about what’s happening in the world as she only knew the parent who raised her. 

She continued ‘Imagine how she felt sleeping in the orphanage for the first time.’ The toddler was abused twice, once when she was left for the first time by her biological parents and the second time when she got used to the new family then was abandoned again.

Translation: "After giving her the warmth of the family, they left her to an orphanage. The story of a 3-year-old girl ignites social media after her foster family abandoned her."

The founder of the idea of adoption also emphasised the importance of sharing awareness about adoption as it is a term of commitment and there shouldn’t be an option to turn back once you sign the papers.

At the end of the video, Yomna Dahrouj asked her followers to start a campaign "#الاحتضان_مسؤولية_مش_ترند’ which means adoption is a responsibility, not a trend.

Activists have responded to the video and the campaign slamming the family’s heartbreaking decision and denouncing adoption rules in Egypt saying there shouldn't be a change of hearrt if you decide to adopt a child.

Translation: "The video of the girl, who was adopted by a family and brought back to the orphanage after 3 years because the mother got pregnant, is super painful; I couldn't breath after reading the news. How they felt okay returning her? didn't they got used to her after 3 years? won't they miss her at all?"

Translation: "Since the series 'Why Not' and the large number of people who turned to adopt kids, I have been wishing that the families are respectable and not taking the idea of adoption as something for fun or just because it is trending and end up returning the orphan to the orphanage."

According to the latest data, the number of adoption cases have risen in Egypt; as 11,600 families have adopted orphans since the beginning of 2020 especially after the series ‘Why Not’ which highlighted the idea of adoption.