There are some people that light up the room with their personality when they walk into a room, and that sounds like 15-year-old Dayjah of Michigan. She is described as having a sweet demeanor and being somewhat shy. She is searching for a family and her forever home.
Deyjah has already endured a hard childhood. In addition to experiencing abuse as a child, Dayjah’s mother crashed her car due to alcohol and drug use with Dayjah and her younger brother in the car. Dayjah was critically injured and her baby brother died from the accident. Dayjah was removed from her mother’s care and now lives in New Directions, an orphanage for the cognitively impaired. According to this article, “She’s 15, but emotionally and mentally she functions at about, I’d say, an 8-year-old, maybe 9,” says Lena Wilson, executive director of Samaritan Lutheran Adoption Service.
Many of Dayjah’s 12 siblings have been adopted or passed away, which is a hard realization for Dayjah. Sadly, the interest in adoption drastically declines as a child ages, especially over the age of 9. Dayjah’s father is unknown.
Dayjah has interest in many areas. She enjoys doing “girly things,” such as getting her hair done and her nails painted. She also enjoys playing softball and soccer and would like to play basketball. In school, she enjoys Biology. She seems like a well-rounded girl with many interests and dreams. She would love to be a pediatrician when she gets older.
What Dayjah needs is a forever home that can encourage her and connect her with services to address her special needs. Many girls like Dayjah get overlooked and sometimes even forgotten in the system as they get older. Dayjah needs and would blossom and thrive in a forever home. “There is no one in Dayjah’s life to assure her that her next step will be a safe one- at least not yet.”
