International foster care sisters find home in Idaho
Photo by TOM GREENE Five sisters, adopted from different places across the globe and now part of the Boudro family in Hayden, are pictured from left: Naomi, Eyerusalem, Abigail, Anni and Janie. Naomi will walk in North Idaho College’s May 12 Graduation Ceremony and Eyerusalem walked in the GED Graduation Ceremony Thursday, May 4.
Yolanda Boudro always told her daughters, “Make your sisters your best friends.”
Friends can come and go, the Hayden woman said, but family is forever — and her 13 daughters have taken those words to heart.
All of the Boudro sisters are adopted from countries like China, Korea and Ethiopia. Because they came home at different times and at different ages, there was always an adjustment period when a new daughter joined the family — but ultimately, they agree their experiences have helped them forge a special bond.
“We all struggled to find our identities,” said Naomi Boudro, who was the fourth sibling to join the family. Since she was among the first to be adopted, she was present for most of her sisters’ homecomings. “Everything was being taken from you. You didn’t know where you were. On my side of things, being home longer, I didn’t want to share my parents, so sharing them with nine more siblings was hard. It took us a while to learn that our parents had enough love to go around.”
Beyond culture shock and language barriers, each girl had to get to know her new sisters, as well as her new parents. It wasn’t always easy.
“You either love each other or kill each other,” said Anni Boudro. “And we chose to love.”
Two of the younger Boudros, Zoe and Desiree, are being home-schooled at present, while Adriana attends public school. Tadelech, Betrese and Hana no longer live at home; Jennifer and Lindsey, the eldest sisters, are married and have earned teaching degrees.
Five of the Boudro sisters — Anni, Abigail, Eyerusalem, Janie and Naomi, all between the ages of 16 and 17 — are currently attending North Idaho College. All home-schooled originally, the sisters have taken advantage of NIC’s dual credit program and Adult Education Center to earn their high school diplomas and continue their educations.
The Boudro sisters have diverse career goals. Eyerusalem dreams of becoming an EMT, for instance, while Naomi is studying accounting and plans to transfer to the University of Idaho after she graduates from NIC in the NIC Commencement Ceremony May 12. In fact, because of her participation in the NIC dual-credit program, Naomi will technically earn an associate’s degree before she receives her high school diploma.
“It’s nice knowing that I’m getting a head start,” she said.
Abigail Boudro, who plans to become a dental hygienist, said it was challenging to transition from home-school to the Adult Education Center. She received her GED last year and is currently enrolled at NIC.
“When you come in here, it’s a shock,” Abigail said. “It takes a different mindset, but anyone can do it. You have to want to graduate. Use all the resources they give you.”
The sisters say their parents have never pressured them to follow any particular path, but encourage their educational goals. In particular, their father’s work ethic has inspired them to do their best in whatever they pursue.
“When you come from a Third-World country, you see all the different needs that people have,” said Anni, who was adopted from Ethiopia. “I feel like I’ve known that I wanted to be a nurse since I was 3. I’ve always wanted to help people, so when I came here, I realized I could do something about it. I could actually become a nurse. My parents have been very supportive. They made me believe that I can get my dreams.”
Like any family, the Boudros have their spats and disagreements. Their relationships aren’t always easy, but in the end, Anni said, they choose to love each other, every time. The sisters are constant companions. They do most things together, from shopping trips to attending youth group to family trips while they were growing up.
The sisters credit their parents for fostering their close relationships, and for opening their hearts to older children, who tend to have a harder time getting adoptive homes.
“They did it because they wanted us to be saved from the backgrounds we came from,” Abigail said. “The oldest was 14 [when she was adopted]. Nobody does that. They just adopted us and hoped it would work — and it did.”
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Kaye Thornbrugh is a freelance writer for North Idaho College.