“Despite that some of the officials asked me to return her and choose someone else, I couldn’t because God asked me to have her in a dream. I would definitely do the same, if I got back in time” I am Hanan from Sohag, married for 22 years, and I thought about kafala after five years of marriage and I approached my husband many times about the matter, but he refused every time. When my father, may he rest in peace, died, I felt lonely even though my mother and sisters were present, and I felt that I would be alone for the rest of my life. I was afraid of old age and afraid that I would die and no one would be with me. So, I talked to my husband about kafala again, and again he refused. However, this time I was determined and I asked him to make the choice between accepting kafala or divorcing me, so he desperately agreed. Right the next day, I went and chose Rahma. In fact, God was the one who chose her for me because the day before that I saw her in a dream, and I received Rahma within a week, and the process took no time. It was the most beautiful day of my life. When I heard her calling me “Mama” for the first time, I felt extremely happy. She was bouncing like a child, and every day she was growing before my eyes, happiness and the love between us increased. I discovered after a short while that my daughter had special needs. I thanked God for his blessing, and I did not think of a moment to abandon her, even though some of the officials asked me to return her and choose another, I couldn’t because God asked me to have her in a dream. I would definitely do the same, if I got back in time. After 10 years, I decided to go for kafala again, and thank God I came forward, and after so many procedures, I received Mariam, and it was the same longing that I felt the day I received Rahma, and Rahma was very happy with Mariam. I was so excited and prepared everything for her. I got her new clothes, food, dolls, and sweets. May God bless them, I was completely happy, and I loved them. I felt that my family had grown, knowing that Rahma was the one who chose Mariam. Praise be to God, he honored me with my daughters and Yalla Kafala, and I will be next to our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in Paradise”.

I decided that I would choose her with white skin so that she would be close to me and would not be tired when she grew up because of the difference in skin color.” My name is Heba, single. I work as a pharmacist, and I am 40 years old. It was my life’s dream to be a mother, but didn’t get married. I wanted to have a daughter, but the law did not allow women, who never got married, to do kafala. I knew that the law changed and I watched videos of Marwa and Yasmina, who gave me new hope in life, and I took the step. I submitted my papers, and thank God, it was accepted. The beautiful thing about it is that the approval came to me on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2021, and it was the most beautiful day in my life. I wanted to have a little girl so that I could live every moment with her, and share with her first laugh, her first birthday, her first baby steps, her first words. and I decided that I would choose her with white skin so that she would be close to me and would be accepted by the society when she grew up because of the difference in skin color. God willed that she is of a dark skin color and also from Upper Egypt, as if God was telling me that I am the one to choose for you, not you, and it was the best choice. God blessed me with Mariam. Praise be to God, since the day she got into my life, I was filled with happiness and love; and I still had a goal to live for, and I still had hope in life, and I always prayed that God would support me to raise her well and be a good person.

“My husband told me that my son was missing and I found him, and I told him, ‘This is my son. I don’t want anyone else.’ For 7 years, my husband and I thought of kafala, but we travelled and we stopped thinking about it. I lived outside Egypt for a while until I started hearing about kafala on Facebook. I was at a very difficult stage in my life due to estrangement and loneliness. I did Umrah and prayed to God a lot. My husband agreed when I spoke to him. I actually spoke to him, but his opinion was that we were waiting until we settled in Egypt. At that time, I decided to prepare myself well, and I read a lot about kafala and law, and I watched videos about it and how to do it. At that time, I decided that I would present the idea of kafala again to my husband and that we would not have to wait and we could do kafala of our son and he would stay with us and settle comfortably later in Egypt. He said, ‘Let us think.’ And throughout the month of Ramadan, he used to ask for guidance and pray a lot, and on the first day of Eid, he said, ‘Let’s go for it’. We begin kafala procedures, and I was so happy, so I sent to the foster care institution, which put me in touch with Amani in the Ministry of Social Solidarity in Giza, who helped me very much in the procedures. The procedures were easy, thank God, but the difficult thing was waiting. It was a dreadful feeling to just wait. We traveled after the committee approved us and waited. The security inquiry took 10 months. When the security approval came, I cried, and I squealed with joy. I went to Egypt for compulsory training and in the training, I met the greatest mothers, who taught us and understood us, Professor Marwa and Professor Noura from Yalla Kafala. I really learned a lot of things from them. They made us understand and knew how much we should be prepared for our children. The day I got the approval to see my son, I was over the moon. I couldn’t wait any longer and started looking for my son everywhere I go to. Until the Wydad orphanage informed me that there was a child that we could see, I went, feeling that he was my son before even meeting him. And the first time I saw him, oh God, it was like meant to be; the similarity of our characters and his, his features, and the comfort we felt talking to him. And from here the journey started. I breastfed my son and he became my son through breastfeeding. A different feeling as he breastfed and that he remained a part of me. Days passed and I got to spend Ramadan with him and buy him Eid clothes. The best Ramadan and Eid I have ever had, I have never been happier. I prayed Eid with my son for the first time. I forgot to tell you that everybody liked my son and would want to have him the first time they see him. Thanks to God, his travel procedures were completed easily and smoothly. My friends made a surprise for us. He is now living with us, filling our lives with joy and love. May God bless him and empower us to support and raise him to be a good person.