Let me introduce you to Wilma & Ruth.

Ruth is one of those scarce “stories with happy endings” that we talked about before.

Now, she’s two years old, she’s big and healthy, she lives in the Netherlands and speaks Dutch and Bambara. She’s an enchanting little lady with a great capacity to remember names and faces…

But only one year ago, the situation was the complete opposite.

Ruth was found abandoned in (Manabougou) one of the poorest and most marginal neighbourhoods in all Bamako (and that’s saying a lot). She was alone and very ill. She looked in such a way that we all thought she would be three months old maximum, but really, she was 14 months old! She weighed only 6 kg nd her chances of survival were almost none.

And then, Wilma came. She had already started the process of adoption and was qualified to adopt a child. When she saw the baby, she knew she was the one. BIBI gave Ruth to her, without knowing if the baby was going to make it. But she had the hope that if somebody could help that dying 14 months old baby whose first (and only by that moment) words were “We” (That’s Bambra for “Go Away”) that would be Wilma.

And the unexpected happened. With patience, care and love, Wilma saved Ruth, and she became the healthy and happy girl you can see in the picture. Enjoy it, because Wilma told us that Ruth very rarely smiles in the pictures. Here you can see her beautiful smile!

Thank you so much, Wilma.