Meet the Diawara Family!

Michelle Diawara had a desire starting in the 7th grade to dedicate her life to helping children. Initially she accomplished this through her work, but eventually this desire became part of her family story. Michelle’s adoption story started when was 35 and a single mother. Michelle was contacted by a friend of hers that knew of a mother who was at risk of having her children removed from her care. Michelle’s friend wanted to know if she would be willing to take in one of these children. Victor moved in when he was 13 years old. When he first moved in Michelle was not licensed as a foster parent and had agreed to care for him informally. Soon after he moved in, she got her foster parent license in Iowa. Victor did so well in Michelle’s home that the birth mother decided to relinquish her parental rights as long as Michelle could adopt Victor. While caring for Victor, Michelle would take him to visit staff in group homes he had previously lived. During one of these visits, Michelle met Trey. Trey had lived with his grandmother until she passed away and then entered the child welfare system. He had been separated from all of his siblings and had no known family. Trey started to do weekend visits and then moved into her home in 2011 and eventually was adopted. Michelle’s next two children came to her through an emergency respite stay. These siblings, Josiah and Zavian, had quite a few health conditions that required some additional services and supports. After doing the emergency respite for the boys, the agency called Michelle and asked if she would be willing to foster them. They moved into Michelle’s home when they were 9 months and two years old. Michelle thought they would return to their birth mother’s care but when that became not possible, she decided to adopt them in 2014. Not long after that Michelle received another call from her agency asking if she would foster a girl who was 17. Christiana moved into her home and was looking for a forever family. Feeling like she still had room left in her home and heart, Michelle took in Christiana and eventually adopted her one month prior to her turning 18. Her next child was Alejandro. Alejandro had been adopted but when that adoption failed he went back into the child welfare system. The agency contacted Michelle to see if she could take in Alejandro who was 16 at the time. Michelle agreed and later adopted him in 2017. Feeling that her family was content, Michelle felt that she was done with adoption. However, after a tragic child abuse case came to light in Iowa, Michelle decided to take in Maisy. Maisy was 11 when she moved in and had a lot of challenges due to the extreme abuse she had endured. However, Maisy is now adopted and thriving in school, playing basketball and loving the family rabbits.

What started as a desire in 7th grade resulted in Michelle adopting 7 children and fostering many more. Michelle says that all of her children have unique stories and all of them deserve to have a permanent family. When asked why she continued to add to her family through adoption Michelle stated, “I knew my heart could hold as many as God wanted me to hold.” Michelle has received a lot of support from her mother throughout this journey. She currently has three of her adopted children living in her home and the others have moved into their own homes. Michelle says she talks to all of her children daily. When asked what people considering adoption should think about Michelle says, “Adoption is a life-long commitment no matter what trials and tribulations might come your way. You have to learn to take the child’s hand and partner with them to walk from the valley to the top of the mountain.”