Adopted Sixth-Grader Celebrates His Birthday With A Birthday Cake For First Time Ever In His Life

Jun 17, 2022

People do kind acts every day. Some are small acts of kindness and some are rather large. For two brothers in Sierra Leone, they received an act of kindness that would change their lives forever. James and Abraham, two brothers in Sierra Leone, lived at an orphanage. 

While residing at the orphanage, the brothers had the opportunity to meet a man named Joe Walker. Walker was visiting the orphanage with the owner to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. 

Walker spent time with the brothers by playing soccer and reading books. Walker became especially close to James. Once Walker left Sierra Leone and returned home to Charlotte, North Carolina he knew he needed to stay connected to the young boy.

Unfortunately, James and Abraham were forced out of the orphanage. Walker gave James a phone to keep him updated and eventually Walker connected the brothers with a new place to stay. 

Walker and his family facetimed James and Abraham for 30 days during this difficult time. It was near this time that Walker and his wife sat their family down to discuss a change in the family dynamics. After a discussion, the Walker family decided they wanted to adopt the two brothers from West Africa.

Due to the pandemic, the brothers could not join their new family due to travel restrictions. However, Walker immediately left for Sierra Leone once travel restrictions were lifted.

These days, the brothers are living a completely different life than they were before. They are experiencing many firsts with the Walker family. The family has recently posted a moment that they will never forget. 

Abraham, a sixth grader, recently had a birthday and shared that this was a day he will never forget. "It feels like a joyful in your life," he said. "Because that was my first birthday cake since I was born with my name,” the birthday boy added. 

"So here that was my first birthday cake. And so it blew my mind when everybody was like close your eyes," Abraham remembered. The moment Abraham received his first birthday cake was recorded and eventually shared on social media. The moving video became an instant internet hit. In the video, you can see Abraham’s first cake being brought out to him as the Walker family sings around him. Abraham’s reaction is right out of a movie. Moved to tears, the birthday boy can’t hold back his emotion as he relishes the sweet birthday memory. 

The social media post has nearly 60,000 impressions and nearly 800 comments. The post has also been shared over 39,000 times. Walker said the sweet moment resonated with people. He added that people hold onto happy content like this. Comments said things like, “I have chills for him. Appreciate the little things, man what a fabulous reminder.” Another Facebook user wrote, “That is the sweetest! Oh to have that much gratitude for the seemingly little things that really are such big things.” 

"I just think we're looking for authentic, joyous moments," the proud dad said. "And I think this was so pure. It's a reminder of how the simplest things can be super impactful to people,” Walker added. 

The two brothers, James and Abraham, will be headed into middle school and high school when they start school in the fall of 2023. 

Isn’t this video touching? We hope that James and Abraham get to celebrate every future birthday in a special way. If you loved this article— send it to other people who will love it just as much!