A Zambian peacekeeper adopts a CAR baby.

Captain Mwila Chansa of the Zambian army has spoken about her struggle to adopt a child she met while serving as a UN peacekeeper in the Central African Republic.

The mother of the infant girl was expecting twins but died after giving birth to the first kid in November 2020 due to complications. The second kid died before birth.

Captain Chansa was in Birao, on the Sudan-Chad border, in March 2021 when she learned about the baby, who was then being cared for by a nurse in the Zambian camp.

She decided to adopt it, but the bureaucracy made negotiating the country's Islamic law a long and difficult procedure.

"I went to Google to search up how to adopt a child from the Central African Republic. The entire presentation focused on USAid and how simple it is for Americans to adopt children in general. However, there was no mention of a Zambian adopting a child "She told the BBC about it.

Her "strong conviction" led her to "fight tooth and nail" to "engage the powers that be until the kid was here [Zambia's capital, Lusaka]," according to the captain.

"It reminds me so much of the biblical Moses story," she explained.

"It's like falling in love when you adopt a child." You see a lot of guys or women, but you only pick one."

Captain Chansa was praised by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema for exhibiting humanism in her duties.

The presidential endorsement drew much more attention.

"When I awoke, my phone was ringing. "I was curious as to what was going on," she explained.

She has high expectations for her baby daughter, Thabo.

"I'd want to see her as President of the Central African Republic." She said, "I say that without flinching."