I was actually adopted; I was the first one.
I came to this family when I was only three weeks old;
so this all seems quite normal to me.
I’ve learned a lot with each child.
One learns to have patience, to love,
to overcome selfishness.
My life wasn’t good.
I liked to gamble and had other vices that I’ve now left behind.
I sold the hotels, one by one: I owned three hotels.
With that money I run this orphanage here
This is the orphanage.
This is where the volunteers come to help out.
Many people take care of me.
They make me happy. They give us meals, take care of us and teach us things.
My parents didn’t give me life and yet they love me,
without being obliged to love me.
I think that thisstrengthens a child a lot and almost unconciously:
feeling loved without that necessity.
It is natural to transmit life
and also happiness and everything else.
Keeping it for oneself is of no use.
One needs to be able to transmit it.
It was very hard for me to imagine that someone
would be ready, as a mother,
to give up her child on realizing
that she wasn’t the best for her child.
The love that my biological mother truly had for me
was always something I sensed, because whenever she came here to visit me
she said how grateful she was
to Annemarie, that is, to my mother.
And Jesus tells us:
“No more discarding,
you yourselves give them something to eat.”
As one can see, these children eat a lot
and are grateful for everything you give them, without any complaining:
for everything you give them. It’s simple.
I hope we can help them,
to have a better future, education,
discipline and moral values.
So everyone should do their homework, OK?
I hope we can help them to study at the university.
They gave me a place to sleep,
a home, clothing and meals.
We can’t express how happy we are
to be able to help out in the orphanage.
This is Babsi.
She’s my favorite cow.
I am happy that we are all one big family
and that Alexa has aunts and uncles.
Anyone can help out,
one doesn’t need to be a professional to work helping others.
Everywhere I have the feeling
that we are sharing love,
and before I didn’t have this feeling.
When I had money, I wasn’t as happy: I had a lot of worries.
But now I have a simple life,
I have what I need to eat and don’t have any worries.
To all the parents who can’t have children
I can only recommend that they try to have a generous heart,
that they don’t have recourse to artificial methods,
that they give children a home: it’s what they are hoping for.
My children, the only remedy is to have a bigger heart,
being concerned about everyone, loving everyone,
being ready to make sacrifices for everyone.