An unexpected adoption pivot saw Anna and Mark Dombkins parenting five children under five. Photos: Supplied.
Imagine you’ve left the Illawarra to journey to a foreign country, navigate a labyrinth of bureaucracy at the rugged base of Mt Kilimanjaro, and suddenly go from parenting two toddlers to five under five.
It’s not a fever dream — it’s the true tale of Wollongong’s Anna and Mark Dombkins, and the origin story of a mission to keep families together for good.
Moved by a documentary about human rights violations in an orphanage in a developing country, in the early 2000s the Dombkins had set out on a years-long journey to open their home to children without hope of a family of their own.
“We were hoping to adopt a sibling pair, as they were less frequently adopted, and were often split up,” Anna says. “We knew we wanted a bigger family and figured we could give a pair of siblings the chance to stay together after losing the rest of their family.”
The Dombkins, who already had a one-year old and a four-year-old, had entered into discussions about adopting one-year-old twins, when the baby home informed them of a third brother, just nine months older, who was living with grandparents who couldn’t keep him.
“He was very malnourished and unwell, and they didn’t think he would survive,” Anna recalls. “They asked if we would take him as well.”
That day, they brought home three one-year-olds, bringing the count to five under five. Later, they had a third biological child, completing their family with six children.
But while it reads as a happy ending, it was just the beginning.
Tanzania has some three million orphans, many of whom have been abandoned in heartbreak and desperation — not unwanted, just unable to be kept.
So, in 2015, a seventh Dombkins “baby” was born. Today, Forever Projects — an offshoot of the Tanzanian organisation Forever Angels — has raised more than $2.5 million and empowered 2200 women with the means to break the cycle of poverty and keep their families together.
Now Anna has published the story behind the movement — her family’s story.
Her book Home, Forever, started as a passion project for her children.
“I wanted them to have their story in a narrative form, to help them understand it more deeply,” she says. “It’s hard to tell such a big story in small conversations over time.”
It was not only a remarkable story, but one people resonated with, were interested in, and which Anna found herself telling over and over again.
“I was writing long emails and having detailed conversations about it. I realised it wasn’t an explanation, it was a book,” she says. “People wanted to get involved. That interest made me want to make the story available for anyone who wanted to read it.”
The book, now available for purchase with all major online retailers and locally at Collins Bookstore in Thirroul, documents the family’s personal experience with adoption and witnessing the systemic issues facing families in developing countries, leading to the birth of Forever Projects.
While eye-opening, it is ultimately a hopeful tale and, importantly, one told with the blessings of the whole Dombkins family.
“I read the kids the first draft, a few chapters each night, and they loved it, which was the main goal,” Anna says.
“If they hadn’t loved it, it wouldn’t have been published. They had full control over what was included.
“It’s given them a deeper understanding of their story and how it all unfolded.”
Now the Illawarra is invited to join Anna as she discusses the debut novel.
A free author talk with Anna Dombkins takes place at Thirroul Library on Wednesday 1 April from 5:30 to 6:30 pm — book via eventbrite.
Original Article published by Dione David on Region Illawarra.
