Azumah’s adoption story

58-year-old Azumah and her partner struggled with infertility before they began to consider adopting a child. “We had been thinking of adopting a child for a long time and when a close school friend of mine adopted a daughter that encouraged us to look further into it and we are so very glad we did.”

Talking about the adoption process, Azumah says ““it is rightly very detailed, however, having gone through it, I can say with confidence that this is only to ensure that all adoptive parents are prepared for taking responsibility for a new young person for the rest of their lives.”

“To anyone in the black community considering adopting I’d say that we are their best chance”

Azumah adopted her son Kwame when he was two years old. Now four, she says “the best thing about adopting for us is that we now have this beautiful, happy, giggling, singing child running around the house. He is a very affectionate young boy who had a difficult start in life. We hope that he grows up completely comfortable accepting himself as an adopted child, which we celebrate and talk about often. Ultimately, our goal is to support him and keep him safe.

 “For us, the level of love and affection we have for Kwame is the same that any biological parent would have for their natural birth child – to us, he is our son.”

Azumah says she was lucky to have a supportive network around her through the adoption process, but that it was still difficult to tell her mum about her plans initially. “In the Ghanaian community which my husband is from, adoption happens more often than in the Caribbean community, so it was easier to tell my partner’s family than it was to tell my Jamaican mum. Sadly, my mum passed away recently but I’m happy to say that there were no negative reactions to our adopting Kwame at all; my mum loved having him around and my brothers and wider family have been very welcoming. Ultimately, I think if your friends and family can see you are happy and that you are making a real difference to someone’s life, they will be supportive.”

Azumah is keen to encourage others considering adoption to go for it, “to anyone in the black community considering adopting I’d say there are a lot of black children needing homes and that we are their best chance. Please come forward if you are interested.”

Adopting with Birmingham Children's Trust

 At Birmingham Children's Trust, we are proud to provide an inclusive adoption service to all of Birmingham's communities. We understand that it can be challenging for people to share their personal information when they decide that they would like to adopt. Our diverse workforce we will work with you to make this as easy as possible throughout your adoption journey. We offer lifelong support to all our adoptive families and will ensure that you have the opportunity to meet other families in your situation. 

Ask us about adoption

You can find out more about adopting with Birmingham Children’s Trust on our website or join one of our information events.

Contact us

We would love to hear from you if you are thinking about adoption.

Telephone us: 0121 303 7575

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Thursday: 8:45am to 8:00pm
Friday: 8:45am to 4:15pm

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