Deryn Louise Menzies could scarcely believe herself as she sat at the office of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare on Wednesday. Her dream of becoming a mother to two young girls had finally come true, after a long and arduous wait of five years.
Six-year-old Veni and five-year-old Rani, sisters under the care of the council’s adoption centre, will now be able to fly to their new home in New Zealand with their ‘Mummy,’ now that all formalities related to the adoption process have been completed.
Deryn, a music therapist, had set her mind on adopting two girl children from India five years ago.
“I was a happy woman who had achieved all she aspired for, and felt it was time to give back to society,” she says, adding that she chose India since it allowed single women to adopt.
A long journey followed this realization, beginning with convincing the New Zealand authorities of her desire and ability to adopt, who then made a request to their Indian counterpart, following which an adoption centre and children suitable for Deryn’s profile were identified. She also underwent training programmes to prepare herself for raising adopted children.
“It was a whole lot of paperwork,” she describes the painfully long procedure.
In November 2015, Deryn was introduced to young Veni and Rani, whom she promptly fell in love with. Since then, she has been gradually bonding with her girls, sending them gifts and post cards from her travels.
For the girls, life in their new home near Napier, New Zealand, would be one to cherish, as they would grow up in Deryn’s farmhouse, surrounded by cows, grass and cheese. Their doting mother has prepared the house for their arrival, even sewing curtains with pictures of elephants on them for the windows of their room.
Even amidst her elation at finally having the girls to herself, Deryn is also a bit apprehensive of raising them in a country and culture so different from their birthplace. “It is a challenging task, but I hope to ensure that they stay in touch with their roots, while adapting to life over there,” she says.
Communication is also a matter of concern, although Deryn hopes that this will be resolved without much difficulty. As of now, the girls speak a smattering of English, including numbers and key words like ‘food’ and ‘toilet,’ while Deryn speaks a little bit of Malayalam.
She is set to fly back with the girls on March 20. While Veni and Rani are going on a temporary visa, Deryn expects that they will be granted New Zealand citizenship soon.
