‘We Hope To Bring Her Home Before Her 3rd Birthday’: A Maltese Family’s Struggle To Reach Their Adopted Daughter In India
A Maltese family is stuck in limbo trying to bring their adopted daughter home from India.
Angie Farrugia and her husband Kevin were all set to bring Sathvika home to Malta when the global pandemic hit.
“It’s been two years since the adoption process started to bring Sathvika home,” she said. “We have all the documents ready. But on the day we applied for the visa to India in March, the country went on lockdown and our visa was denied.”
India closed its borders and visa applications on the 11th March, the same day they had applied.
They’re not the only ones feeling the disruption of COVID-19. Another Maltese family on a similar feat ended up stuck in a hotel room in India with their adoptive daughters for six weeks, with no way to leave under the imposed lockdown. Luckily, they were issued emergency travel documents and recently managed to return to Malta.
Now, the Farrugias are waiting to see when they can travel to the orphanage in Anantapur, South India and hope to bring Sathvika home before her 3rd birthday this August.
Photos of Sathvika
This is not their first adoption. Sathvika will come home to her new sister, Anamika aged four, who Angie says is eager to meet.
“Anamika is so excited to meet her sister. She asks everyday- where is my sister, mummy?”
Although thousands of miles apart, the family is in regular contact with the orphanage, and regularly receive photos and videos of Sathvika.
“We’re so lucky but anxious to get there. We are seeking help from local authorities, our adoption agency and the New Delhi High Commissioner to bring her home once internal flights in India reopen. It’s crazy how much you can miss someone you haven’t even met before.”
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