---
title: A Very Special Girl
description: Read the story of Maleah, a special girl waiting for a family to call her own. Learn about her hopes, dreams, and the journey to finding her loving family.
image: https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/hubfs/Madison/Thailand/Maleah%20%282%29.jpg
---

[![Gladney Center for Adoption](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/hubfs/Adoptionsbygladney_November2017/Images/gladney-logo.svg "Gladney Center for Adoption")](http://adoptionsbygladney.com)

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# Gladney Blog

# A Very Special Girl

Posted by [Sarah Hansen](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/author/sarah-hansen) on 2/29/24, 1:30 PM

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Maleah has been waiting for a family to call her own for far too long.  Our staff spent time with her last February, and we have been working hard to find the perfect family for her since.

![Maleah (2)](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Madison/Thailand/Maleah%20(2).jpg?width=300&height=396&name=Maleah%20(2).jpg)The day we met her, she walked in with her head held high, displaying the perfect ‘this is lame’ teen strut.  She was trying her best to let us know this meeting was boring, and she’d rather be doing a million other things.  But she slipped up when she briefly made eye contact with both of us, letting down her tough teen façade just for a moment, and giving us our first glimpse into the amazing young woman that she is.  She knew why we were there, and it wasn’t hard to see her vulnerability behind the valiant attempt of only giving off teen ‘tude.

Maleah (now 14) beelined straight to the familiar face in the room to sit next to, and geared up for our questions.  At first shy, quiet, and attempting disinterest, she slowly answered our questions with the briefest of answers.  She likes school, loves sports (she’s very tall!), loves helping with the little kids in the orphanage, and desperately wants a family.  Maleah is open to just a Mom, or a Mom and Dad, who will support her athletics, as well as teach her to cook.  With each question, we got a bit more out of Maleah, and little by little we cracked her shell and got to see the real girl under the teen face.  The Maleah who loves with her whole heart, despite a challenging childhood.  The Maleah who tried so hard to give a teen eyeroll at our American antics, but ultimately let her giggles slip out.  The Maleah who takes care of the younger kids as if they were her little siblings.  The sweet, funny, kind, nurturing, hopeful Maleah. 

Maleah started our day together with her armor on and buttoned up tight.  But we ended the day knowing the real Maleah.  And we couldn’t be more grateful and humbled that she let us in to see a small part of her soul.  To see her heart, her hopes, and her dreams.  Dreams of a family to call her own.

There were delays in preparing Maleah’s adoption paperwork, giving us very little time to find her family.  But we vowed to her we would do all we can to find them, and we need your help.  Interested in learning more about Maleah, and about adopting from [Thailand](https://adoptionsbygladney.com/i-want-to-adopt/international/thailand)?  Please complete our [Prospective Adoptive Parent form](https://madison.mysamdb.com/SAM/Fm/FamilyInformationSheet_Edt.aspx) today or [email us](mailto:sarah@madisonadoption.org) to schedule a personal conversation!  Not in a position to adopt?  That’s OK!  Simply sharing this post will help find her family!  

 Topics: [Waiting Children](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/tag/waiting-children), [International Adoption](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/tag/international-adoption), [Older Child Adoption](https://blog.adoptionsbygladney.com/tag/older-child-adoption)

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see all

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