Aya and her younger sisters were born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. Their mother and the girls fled Lebanon in 2004 to escape the war-torn country. After their mother developed a severe mental illness, the three girls faced years of abuse, neglect, and homelessness trying to survive on the streets of Washington, DC. Eventually the girls were taken into state custody, and Aya was separated from her sisters for over two years while spending most of her time in between foster homes. When she turned 15, Aya desperately wanted to be reunited with her sisters but knew it would take a miracle for someone to want to adopt 3 foreign preteen girls.