Treka Engleman has known for as long as she can remember that she wanted to have children. As a math teacher from Cincinnati, Ohio, Treka says that working with children and taking care of them always felt natural to her even though she didn’t have a maternal figure in her own life. She lost her mother when she was only six years old. Regardless of any uncertainty about being a mother, Treka was determined to fulfill her dream of having a family of her own. The most logical place to start, it seemed to her, was by fostering children, and that’s what she did.
Treka loved the idea of fostering children, but she wasn’t sure if she would qualify to be a foster parent since she was a single woman. To her surprise, Treka met all of the requirements of being a foster parent except for not having her own home. She was sharing a home with her sister at the time. However, she quickly found a two-bedroom apartment and moved in, ready to do whatever she had to do to be a good foster parent. The other requirements were being over the age of 21 and having a job, and she met both of those. She took foster parent classes for two months and was ready to take in her first foster child from St. Joseph Orphanage.
I am inviting people who love their daughters to join the challenge of posting a photo 🤗 Just one photo of your…
Posted by Treka Engleman on Thursday, May 7, 2020
Although she had the option of choosing the child’s race, she decided not to do that. It didn’t matter to her what the child’s race was, believing that “Love is love no matter what color you are.” In December 2016, Treka welcomed home a little five-day-old boy named Elijah, and he quickly won Treka’s heart. When she took in a little girl six months later, Treka began to feel that her family was complete. The little girl’s name was Alexis and she had a sister named Mercedes. The older sister was supposed to come to Treka’s home, too, but she had been in trouble at the group home.
Its national daughter day!!!! They might not have came from me but they were placed in my life for a reason! S/N you can tell which one really loves the camera!
Posted by Treka Engleman on Friday, September 25, 2020
Treka took Alexis and Elijah every weekend to visit Mercedes and eventually she was able to bring her home in March 2018. When Treka asked the kids if she could adopt them, they were delighted. “The way they lit up with excitement when they found out it was happening will forever be one of the best memories,” she said. On November 1st, the family of four became a legal family in the eyes of the law. If you want to show your support for this family, visit their GoFundMe page.
Image: Facebook