WEDNESDAY'S CHILD
Wednesday’s Child: Manuel, 10, loves climbing; hopes to be adopted by an active, loving family
SANDY, Utah — With a quick hand and sturdy foot, 10-year-old Manuel wastes no time scaling the walls at Momentum Indoor Rock Climbing in Sandy.
“Manuel loves to climb. Basically anything that can be climbed, he will climb it,” said Rylee Evans, Manuel’s youth connections advocate at Raise the Future.
Climbing comes natural to Manuel, who enjoys being active and playing sports.
“We’ll play basketball, play horse, and he always beats me; he’s pretty good,” Evans said.
Evans has worked with Manuel for about two years as a mentor and role model.
“He’s super fun and funny, and he has a lot of ideas,” Evans said. “And he’ll tell you what he thinks, you just have to get past that shyness first.”
Manuel’s shyness is one way he protects himself. He’s lived in foster care for more than five years, and in that time, lived in multiple placements.
“The first few years of foster care were very turbulent for him. He’s only recently found stability,” Evans said.
When getting to know Manuel, it was clear he values one-on-one time. He talked about his love of school and math, his favorite TV show Naruto, and his love of candy and ice cream.
“He has the best memory of any kid in the world. If I tell him something, he’ll always remember it. He’s super smart,” Evans said.
Manuel wants to remember what it feels like to have a loving and supportive family. He wants to trust that his next connection will be the one that lasts.
“He’s a kid that is going to need a long transition into a home because I don’t think he’ll trust immediately that it will be forever until that’s proven,” Evans said.
To learn more about Manuel, please contact Raise the Future at 801-265-0444.
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