An abandoned three-year-old girl from India who was refused by ɱaпy couples seeking to adopt because she didn’t have a nose has finally found a new home.
Kristen Williams, 44, from Cincinnati, adopted little Durga after a number of couples refused her because insects had eaten away her nose when she was abandoned at birth.
But Durga has now started a new life in Ohio, with her eight-year-old sister Muppi, whom Kristen also adopted from India in 2012. Kristen said: ‘I look at my girls and I’m so happy. I had set out to adopt a child, but this journey has brought me so much more.
So Kristen was introduced to India and very quickly came across little Muppi who had been in an orphanage since 2009.
She said: ‘I was looking through the lists and lists of children up for adoption on my computer screen from an agency, and there were just so ɱaпy.
‘It was heartbreaking to see how ɱaпy girls need a loving home in India. But I suddenly felt this pull for this little girl.
‘Her name was Muppi and she was just five years old at the ᴛι̇ɱe. I don’t know what it was, but we connected. I just knew she was my daughter, I felt we had to be together, and I got the ball rolling.’
Over the next two years, Kristen was put through paperwork and court processes in order to adopt Muppi, but she never gave up.
‘I knew I wanted Muppi in my life, so I did everything in my power to make it happen,’ she added. ‘I wasn’t giving up on her no matter how long it took.’
Eventually, in December 2012, Kristen met Muppi for the first ᴛι̇ɱe.
Kristen came to know that Muppi had a scar on her forehead in the shape of a horseshoe, but no one could tell her how it got there. Muppi was quiet and withdrawn, but Kristen felt nothing but love for her.
And on February 14, 2013, Kristen finally became Muppi’s adopted mother. She said: ‘I call her my forever valentine because it was all finalized on Valentine’s Day.
‘It was such a special day. I was so blessed. She opened my eyes to so much. And I knew I wanted to adopt a little sister or brother for Muppi.’
Kristen, who works as a secondary school teacher in Loveland, told her adoption agency as soon as she arrived that she wanted to adopt again. And they promised to keep her notified of availabilities.
The adoption process relies heavily on agencies and its caseworkers matching prospective parents with children.
And it was Kristen’s caseworker who told her about Durga. She had been abandoned in a bush at birth and insects or animals had eaten away her nose.
Apparently, the police found her clinging to life and took her to a nearby clinic in Kutch, in Gujarat, western India. Chances of her survival were slim, but she fought on.
Eventually, she made a full recovery and she started her life in an orphanage. But there was no funding or money available for treatment for her nose. Durga had spent all her life with no nose.
When Kristen first saw a photo, she didn’t hesitate. She said yes immediately and knew that Durga would be happy with her and Muppi.
‘I remember that Muppi and I were driving home one day and my caseworker called saying: “We have a little girl for you and you’d be a perfect family for her”, and I told her to send her information over immediately,’ Kristen remembered.
As soon as Kristen and Muppi walked through the door, they logged onto the computer and Durga’s face smiled back at them.
Kristen said: ‘I cried straight away. This gorgeous little girl with such beautiful eyes had suffered so much. Muppi looked at her photo and said: ‘Is that my little sister?’. I said yes immediately. The caseworker asked if I needed 24 hours to think about it but I said no, not needed.’