“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.

“She was the first child I saw, and I knew from the first time I laid my eyes on her that she was my daughter. She enlightened our lives and filled them with joy, love, and true happiness.” I am Basma, 37 years old, English teacher, married since 2009. I didn't think for a moment that I wouldn't have children, but after the marriage, and after spending more than 10 years on doctors and operations that drained almost all of our psychological and physical energy, I decided that enough was enough. Although our son Ibrahim was taken care of by my husband and I for a long time in one of the orphanages, I have never thought about kafala. Until one of my neighbors approached me about her desire for kafala, even though she had children. She introduced me to the kafala pages, and here I entered this beautiful world of kafala and felt that it was a message from God to me. I started reading stories and communicating with some of the families until we were finally able to make the decision. It was a hard decision. We went though it despite how those around us tried to intimidate us. Sponsorship is an energy of light and life for anyone, a light in the midst of darkness, a life you give to a child and a life that he gives to you. A beautiful child who enlightened our lives and our hearts after years of patience. There was no life before Habiba at all. My daughter deserves all the good things in the world. My family and I will provide her with the best life we can. Ghalia now has her own family forever. You have enlightened our lives, Ghalia.

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.