Julia

Many of our kids have chosen English names for themselves, and this is Julia. Her Mongolian name is Ganaa. She lived in an orphanage from the age of 5, and came to live with us when she was 10. She is now 19 years old. Her mother is an alcoholic, and she doesn't know who her father is. She suffers from kidney problems, including recently having kidney stones.

Ganaa is a special and kind young lady. She is especially talented with crafts, taking simple paper and making beautiful origami-type art. As the oldest girl, she is also very helpful at home with the younger kids. Her English is steadily improving, so I have enjoyed being able to converse with her more and more without a translator.

We don't have an "age limit," where we force our kids to leave once they reach a certain age. We happily support our older kids who want to go to college, or to help others enter the workforce. Our organization is like a family for these children, so we are here to support them as long as necessary until they are ready to live independent lives. Some of them may even end up working for us. I'm watching our older kids with great interest, to see what futures they will choose for themselves.