Hello, we are Maria de Fátima and Carlos Eduardo, from Brazil, currently living in Portugal.

In 2022, we decided to adopt a child, since our first two children had already left home and started their own families.

During the adoption process, we were faced with the possibility of adopting four children instead of one, because the two girls and two boys who were presented to us were biological siblings. This led the judge to decree that those children could only be adopted by a person or persons who would keep them together. In other words, the children would only leave the social shelter where they were staying together.

When we first met the children, which happened at the shelter where they were, the girl Gabrieli immediately looked at Fátima and said: "Mommy, you took so long to come and get me."

That day, after crying copiously while hugging the four children, we realized that their destiny had been sealed. We were going to take home our new children, Vitória, Angelo, Gabrieli, and Carlos, who were 10, 8, 6, and 3 years old at the time, respectively.

The challenges of raising young children are enormous, from the psychological/emotional side, through the heavy financial burden, to the spiritual side. However, everything is going well, with the children healthy, grown up, and properly adapted to living with their new family.

Challenges come and are overcome. This is where we count on the solidarity of those reading this brief description. We need help to better care for the children's daily material needs, such as better food, medical care, and educational costs. Here, where we live, we have received support from the community, such as clothes and certain foods coming directly from the farms of the Portuguese who admire us and are charmed by the children. But there is still much to do on the long road of building and maintaining a large family. Thank you.