After discovering the number of baby girls left outside orphanages in India, Jennifer made it her life goal to adopt one of them. In her pursuit, she finds an instant connection. How has this process changed her life?

Archive footage: Hans Zimmerman
Special thanks: Satwinder Sandhu, IAC: The Centre for Adoption

1000 LONDONERS

This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a ten-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.

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1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit www.chocolatefilms.com

TRANSCRIPT

If I talked about the whole thing then it starts over 20 years ago. When I first came to India and I was 20, I became aware of the, at the time, of the plight of the abandoned baby girls. Who were left in the streets and on the doorsteps of orphanages, or in these cradles outside the orphanages. And I remember making a vow to myself, there, one day that I would adopt a baby girl from there.

There are significant challenging parts in the adoption process, as there probably would be in a pregnancy but with the adoption there's so much hope wrapped up in it, and a lot of red tape, I suppose, that you need to jump through.

I was so nervous, wasn't I? I was so nervous and we arrived. I saw her and I instantly knew it was her, instantly. Instantly. And, and all I wanted to do was protect us and I said "Please just let her sit, let her sit". She doesn't need to do anything, I just need to watch her from afar, just let her be. And they did let her be. And then slowly, slowly we kind of had our first contact. Then within an hour, we were touching. She knew I was there for her, and just clung to my hip.

Our first night together and I just couldn't sleep, I was so excited. I kept on waking up, looking at her.
"There you are" you know? And she slept 11 hours, and woke up in the morning, and looked at me and went "Hi". What she has done every morning since just looks me in the eyes and says "hi".

Our first morning and we're dancing. And from then on, it's been just a honeymoon. She's just such a joy. She's such.. She's just such a joy. I often describe her as a ray of sunshine she's also an incredibly special little girl who I think is quite magical in some ways. She has the most beautiful sense of goofiness and fun and she's cheeky and bright and incredibly loving. And she's infectiously happy and she's capable of spreading that to whoever she meets.

She changes every day what she wants to be. One of the first things she said she wanted to do was to be a professional guest and I said 'What does that mean?'. She said she wants to walk on a red carpet and get to choose what she eats when she's people's guest. So she wants to be a professional guest and I thought that was a fantastic job.

What's the 11/11 for us? Oh it's our adoption day, it is our adoption day! Would you have a message for her in 19 years time? I love you, mama loves you.