Renae Kennedy remembers vividly the first time she laid eyes on her daughter.
Three summers ago, Kennedy was at an event at her church in Manhattan Beach when she saw a little girl holding court.
“She was little for her age, just this pretty little Afro-Latina girl, with big dark brown eyes and a little afro, wearing a pink dress,” Kennedy said. “There was a group of people standing around her, and she was making all of them laugh. And she wasn’t speaking any English – just doing silly things.”
It was love at first sight. Kennedy couldn’t get the girl out of her mind. She called up a friend from the church – called The Rock Covenant Church – and asked her what the little girl’s story was.
“She said, ‘Do you want to adopt her?’” Kennedy recalled. “I didn’t know she was an orphan.”
The question was meant as a joke, sort of. The woman didn’t know that Renae and her husband Matthew Kennedy were indeed seeking to adopt a child. They wanted an infant, however, and had inquired with adoption agencies from Africa.
This little girl’s name was Valeria, and she was seven-years-old and from Columbia. A non-profit organization called KidSave had brought Valeria and about 10 other children to Manhattan Beach from Columbia in hopes of finding families for the children. It was called the “Summer Miracles” program.
Kennedy emailed her friend back later that same day. “Yes,” she wrote, “I do want to adopt her.”
Valeria Kennedy is 10 years old now and happily ensconced in her family. She is a child prone to laughter – crazy fits of giggles, actually, that tend to spread around a room. But neither she nor her mother has forgotten where Valeria came from. This summer the pair is bringing Summer Miracles back to the South Bay. Renae is serving as the program’s coordinator, Valeria as its presiding angel.
KidSave exists to address a global problem: more than 33 million orphans remain unwanted because they are older than the age of six.
“They age out,” Kennedy said. “We were definitely not thinking of an older child. I was nervous about that, but she completely took away all those worries and what I thought about what older kids would be in terms of challenges. She erased that, which is what I think is really important about this organization – when kids come over from Columbia, people are just taken by them. They are just normal kids looking for families.”
Orphans who don’t find homes frequently live troubled lives. According to studies in the U.S., the odds of a child who goes through life as an orphan becoming a homeless adult are one in three. One in five ends up in jail, and one in 10 commit suicide.
Valeria has an ambitious goal. She wants to help find a home for every one of these 33 million lonely children.
“So they have a home and so they are safe and they can be happy with their family,” Valeria said.
Valeria, amid giggles, is serious. She has found such happiness in her new life in America that wants to share it. She recently announced to her family – including her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins – that they needed to work together to help all the orphans in the world.
“I think if we all do it together as a family, we can do it,” she told them.
“I don’t think she really understands there are 33 million kids,” her mother said.
The mission has already begun. Valeria and her family are hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday, May 18 called “Cuts for Kids.” Hairdressers from around the South Bay will congregate at Kasai’s Salon at the Metlox Plaza and cut hair from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for only $25 per cut. All proceeds will benefit the Summer Miracles program, which this July will bring eight to 10 orphans from Columbia for five weeks and help them find new homes.
Valeria is looking forward to meeting the orphans. She has a message for them.
“Don’t worry, and don’t be sad,” she said. “We will find a family for them.”
“Cuts for Kids” is at Kasai Hair Salon in Metlox Plaza, 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd. this Tuesday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred. Call 310-546-0023. For information on adopting or hosting a child, email Renae Kennedy at renae@kidsave.org. ER
