At just 22 years old, Emilie Larter boarded a plane to Uganda with a simple plan: volunteer for a few months, travel through Africa and return home to the United Kingdom. But what began as a short-term trip would grow into a life-changing chapter—one that included finding a partner, adopting four children and building a family thousands of miles from where she grew up.
More than a decade later, Emilie and her partner, Josh, are doing everything they can to bring that family back to the U.K.—a dream that now comes with significant legal and financial hurdles.
A Detour That Became a Life
Back in 2014, Emilie expected Uganda to be just one stop on a long-term journey through her twenties. But only a few weeks into her volunteer work at an orphanage, she was asked to help care for a five-day-old infant whose mother had died. The baby—unnamed and fragile—needed a temporary caregiver in town due to the malaria risk in the village.
Emilie agreed. That decision changed everything.
“I completely fell in love,” she tells PEOPLE. “I emailed my dad and said, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do. How do I leave him now?’”
She called the baby Adam and extended her stay. Eventually, she returned to the U.K., but the bond with Adam was too strong to ignore. Determined to reunite, Emilie took on multiple jobs to save money and returned to Uganda to adopt him.
Her parents were initially unsure—after all, she was young, unmarried and living abroad—but once they saw the depth of the connection, they supported her decision.
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Building a Family, One Child at a Time
In 2016, Emilie reunited with Adam in Uganda. She began working at a children’s home linked to the orphanage and regularly visited a nearby hospital—where she met Josh, the head of security. Their friendship turned into a relationship, and their family began to grow.
In 2018, two of Josh’s young cousins, Tallie and George, came to stay with them temporarily while recovering from illness. The arrangement soon became permanent. Josh formally adopted both children.
Then, in 2020, another child—James—arrived in their care. He, too, was meant to stay only until his health improved. But when Emilie and Josh learned that James was Tallie and George’s biological younger brother, they chose to raise him as part of their family as well.
Today, Emilie and Josh are parents to Adam, George, Tallie and James. Uganda became home, even though Emilie had always imagined raising children in England.
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A Complicated Path Back to the U.K.
Though Uganda holds deep meaning for their family, Emilie never gave up the idea of returning to the U.K.—her home country and the place she hoped her children could eventually grow up. But the process hasn’t been simple.
Because the U.K. does not recognize Ugandan adoptions, Emilie had to go through the process of adopting Adam a second time—this time under British law. Once Adam obtained British citizenship, Emilie moved back to Worcestershire with him to begin laying the groundwork for the rest of the family’s relocation.
For three years, she and Josh lived apart. Josh remained in Uganda with Tallie, George and James, continuing their adoption proceedings while Emilie worked in England to save money and build a foundation for their eventual move.
The separation was painful, and the legal process slow. In late 2023, Emilie and Adam returned to Uganda so the family could reunite and push forward with the remaining paperwork together.
Leaning on Community Support
Now, with all six of them living under one roof again, the family is focused on the next chapter: securing visas, finalizing adoptions and raising the money needed to start over in England.
To help with the high costs—including legal fees, visa applications, housing and transportation—they launched a GoFundMe campaign with a target of £80,000 (about $106,700). Emilie is also sharing updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the process with her community of followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
“There’s something about the power of social media—it can do crazy things,” she says. “I’m optimistic.”
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Looking Ahead
If all goes according to plan, the Larters will relocate to Emilie’s hometown in Worcestershire. Though it will be a dramatic change in environment for Josh and the three younger children, Emilie believes they’ll adapt quickly—and flourish.
“I don’t think they’ll have any problems whatsoever,” she says. “If anything, I think they’ll thrive there.”
Even once they settle in the U.K., the family plans to maintain a strong connection to Uganda. Josh’s parents still live there, and Emilie wants their children to know—and visit—the place where their story began.
