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following his coverage of a heartbreaking adoption story 48 Hours contributor Troy Roberts became
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interested in adopting a child of his own then I had a story in Johannesburg South
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Africa but I went to an orphanage there to make a donation I said you know what uh I'm
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close to 40 now I'm gonna go for it Roberts then became certified to adopt a child and learned
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of a woman in Djibouti who wanted to find someone to adopt her four-year-old son
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and I looked at his photo and the resemblance was uncanny this looks like my kid
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I noticed that his eyes danced thus a signal that he's smart he's clever the young boy's name was Abdi
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Ayan Lee's mother kadra feared for her son's safety because he was mixed race iron Lay's biological father was a
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French soldier who had a short affair with his mother kadra they were homeless and living in
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abandoned building he was sleeping on the floor so was she begging was his routine
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Roberts made an effort to get to know them I began bonding over hamburgers and fries and walking around on the street
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Roberts made two more lengthy trips to Djibouti and made the decision that he wanted to adopt ironland however there
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was one obstacle they needed to work around khad's Road never signed her name she didn't know how to sign her name
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to practice over and over again you know over and over again it was such a loving and selfless effect
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the attorney sitting next to us said to kadra Troy will be a good father and she looked me dead in the eye and
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she said time will tell 10 months after meeting iron lay now known as Jonah Troy took
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him home to the United States [Music] my name is Jonah gray Roberts and my father is Troy Roberts
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Roberts and his newly adopted son then settled down in New York City my dad tells me I we're in New York City
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because your new home and I remember seeing my first home my first real home and he's like this is your room it's my
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own bed I didn't have to share with anyone I had a desk a place where I started studying had the tutors
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it was it was amazing there was never father and adopted son it was always you know father and son
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Troy says like any father he has a lot to learn from his son who needs three monitors Jonah I knew
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you don't understand technology empty burrito refrigerating plastic what can I do and you just stand there
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every Thanksgiving we have this thing where before we start eating after I've made the full meal because he doesn't
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know how to cook um would always start off by saying like what we're grateful for this year Troy
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says as the holidays roll around he is reminded how much we all have to be thankful for
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it seems like everyone's story has a happy ending and uh that's that's pretty cool
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[Music]