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Hello and welcome to the media centers
eight Local Hero award series in which we

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show six people from the mid Peninsula for
outstanding achievement or contributions

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to the community we solicited nominations
and we're particularly looking for the

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unsung heroes each winner is
an inspiration and each has

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a great story to tell. Amber

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was born in rural Ethiopia at the age
of three she had an accident that would

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change her life it led her first several
years in an orphanage and eventually to

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adoption and of all places Minnesota she
now lives in Palo Alto and is the founder

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and director of African. A nonprofit
organization committed to helping the.

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After that.

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Would happen.

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Here.

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My parents that. This Minnesota
couple decided to go to Ethiopia and.

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Work in. My orphanage they were there for

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a year and eventually they went back to the
states and they decided to adopt I was

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. Never had before my own
clothes my own toys.

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Is

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a concept that I didn't even know
existed let alone to to have it. And

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in some. Even though I had
all of those things as

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a little bit lonely because I was so used
to kids and people and just to be with

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the three of Tibet and some
of just. Got a letter from

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a family anything saying they're my birth
family and you went back I went back well

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once I had to college and got my first job
save money for year and went back to see

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them what was it like to go to you and
look at everybody and they looked like me

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and I had a strong resemblance to
some of them so you could see there's

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a genetic connection there and with the
with it was amazing I started working in

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Ethiopia once I had my degree
in social work and. Start

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a program adopting children and I met my
sons their two sons they were ten and

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twelve at the time and I adopted
them you have both adopted and had

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a birth Yes How do I don't when they're
thinking of adopting I worry that they'll

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treat the adoptive child differently I'm
worried about that too when I was pregnant

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with my birth son and I told that to my
oldest my two adopted children and they

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laughed and said once you know I treat him
differently than I create your own mom

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he said and they were right the love is
the same. They're my children so that's

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a huge message for prospective adoptive
parent disappearance. Now having been on

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both sides of this where you match up
parents and children. Which which party do

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you identify with the child
or the parents. Have

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a family. So

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I can identify with the children that
we. Live the more vulnerable part.

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And for you what's. The most.
Part. Go to work every morning as

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it were. A child will get

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a family. Do you know
someone who has overcome

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significant hardship and has an inspiring
story to tell someone who are sacrificed

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or given over and above to the community
and deserve some recognition If so please

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contact us with your nomination for next
year's local hero awards to find out more

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about our local heroes and to watch
interviews with all the winners visit our

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website mid pin Media dot org at the MIT
been in silicon munity media center you

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can make your own videos and television
programs and take classes in all aspects of

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media production you can also hire our
professional services team to find out more

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about that go to M C pro services dot com
Congratulations to all our winners and

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thank you for watching.