A Joyous Family Reunion

There wasn’t much hope that Kelvin would find his family.

At only six years old, he joined a BGR-supported children’s shelter in 2010. A partner rescued Kelvin after he was found begging for money in the city center with his brothers and, though it was a difficult decision to leave their baby brother, his older siblings admitted Kelvin to the program while they tried to find ways to make money. 

After some prodding, the shelter’s social workers discovered that Kelvin and his brothers were rejected by their mother and had no information about their extended family, making it impossible for staff members to find their village of origin. Despite these difficult beginnings in life, Kelvin was an extremely bright and respectful student. Increasingly self-motivated, he was consistently at the top of his class throughout school and an admired natural leader among his peers. 

His many personal successes and model behavior did not take away the pain of abandonment, however.

Kelvin lived with the constant excruciating knowledge of the fact that he was unwanted by his birth parents. Social workers at the shelter who were deeply invested in Kelvin’s life resumed the search for his family on social media in 2014 and were miraculously able to find his older brothers. 

They were overjoyed to hear that their brother was alive and well. After talking with shelter staff, they confessed that they had been afraid to actively search for his whereabouts in case they were held responsible for abandoning Kelvin, rather than their mother. The staff members determined that they were capable of caring for Kelvin well and, this past September – over a decade after his initial admission – Kelvin was reunited with his long-lost family. 

Kelvin was incredibly grateful for the miracle of even finding his brothers, and the added surprise of a homecoming was the ultimate unexpected blessing. This reunification was only made possible because of open-hearted friends like you giving to children in need.