It was late at night when the neighbor heard the cry. It could have been an animal or an owl but to the old woman it sounded like a baby.  She ran to a neighbor and together they began searching for the sound. When they came to the gravel pit in a nearby construction site they knew it was not an animal. In her own words, she said, “I saw a baby lying face down in the pit and the cord and placenta were still attached. I took a rock and I sliced the cord.” As she knelt down to show us how she cut the cord she exclaimed, “I wrapped my konga around the baby and lifted her up into the sky saying, ‘Thank you God for my new daughter.’”

(Above, picking new baby Dorothy up at the hospital.)

I remember as I watched this story being dramatically performed in the small baby room at the old Neema House, I thought Meryl Streep has nothing on this woman. But knowing she could not keep the baby the woman later turned the little newborn into Social Welfare and Social Welfare called Neema Village to pick up the baby from the hospital. Abandoned and alone in the world, we named the baby Dorothy after my sister and a dear friend in Abilene, Texas.

We picked up 2 other babies from the hospital that day, Dawson a newborn left on the side of the road, and a beautiful little newborn whose mom had died in childbirth and the father named Doris. Jack and Sylvia Pape kept these three little ones in their room for days until they got settled in and we were taking their bottles.

Now at four years old, funny and precocious Dorothy dances to her own music most of the time. Below she is singing “If all the raindrops were Lemon drops and Gum drops” and running around the yard saying, “Aa, Aa, Aa Aaa, Aa Aa Aa Aaaa!” with her mouth open wide to catch the gumdrops.

While the other children cried to go to church with volunteers she would throw a fit if we tried to make her get into the car for church. She may have associated cars with going to the hospital to get a shot but at any rate she was having none it.

We watched this little girl grow and we wondered when someone would choose her. She kept us laughing most of the time when we weren’t trying to catch her and one of the cutest pictures we have of our babies is the one below of this little giggly baby girl.

Finally jut a few weeks ago, her big day came and her forever family with new mom and dad, uncles and cousins came to pick her up and fly her off to Dares Salem. The family had been coming to visit so Dorothy was not afraid plus the family paid for one of our nannies to fly to Dar with her. We like that.

These are always happy days with just a tinge of sadness for us knowing that most likely we will never see this funny, dancing girl again. We are grateful to have had a part in saving this little girl. It is what Neema does.

May God go with you Little Miss Dorothy and protect you and remember that we loved you first.

Be Blessed All,

Dorris and Michael Fortson