She grew up in an orphanage in eastern India and witnessed the adoption of many of her childhood friends. Their final destinations were unknown to her, but her memories of them never faded.
Then, it was her turn.
In 2012, Hardeep Kanne left Basundhara, an orphanage in Orissa, India. She was later adopted by Julie and Dave Kanne of Morristown in August 2016. She was 16 when she joined the Kannes' other adopted daughters, Anamika and Ariana, who are also from India. Even more special, Anamika and Hardeep were from the same orphanage.
Hardeep was happy with her new family, but she always remained curious about what became of her childhood friends from the orphanage. So, she began looking for them, using Facebook, and in 2017, held a large reunion at the Kannes' home on Cedar Lake.
"I think we had like 80 people at the house," laughed Julie Kanne. "It was a lot of fun, but when we decided to do it again, we thought this (The Village in Waterville) would be a better site."
Last Friday, 17 adoptees and their families gathered for a weekend-long Celebrate Adoption event in Waterville.

Pick up the June 20, 2019, edition of the Lake Region Life or The Elysian Enterprise to read about the event.