“Goodness is contagious.”

That’s what Adi Sagi, a foster parent of two daughters with Down Syndrome told me. I interviewed him before Down Syndrome Awareness Day which was March 21.

For the past 15 years, Sagi and his wife, Sharon, and their four biological children have raised awareness about Down syndrome, inspiring people to open their homes — and their hearts.

Adi recounted how, on the first night he and his family moved into their new house on Kibbutz Meirav in 2006, Sharon declared that their house was “too big” and they should take in foster children.

Sharon had worked with Down syndrome children as a National Service volunteer after high school. Even before they got married, she had mentioned to Adi that she would like to foster a Down syndrome child someday.

It didn’t take long for Adi to be persuaded, and soon they became a foster family to Michal, who was six at the time. With extensive therapies, education and support, Michal, now 23, is a soldier serving in the Equals in Uniform Project of AKIM Israel and has a boyfriend on the autism spectrum.

This Army unit is part of Israel’s military inclusion program, Special in Uniform, which allows young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities to serve their country. The unit inspired the U.S. Corps of Honor to start a similar program.

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