BUFFALO, N.Y. — Chekina Daniel, 19, now lives in East Amherst, a long way from the Central African Republic where she was born, and where her parents were killed in an ethno-religious civil war.

After her story was highlighted on the NBC Nightly News Making a Difference segment, a physician from Buffalo saw it on WGRZ-TV and reached out to officials. Dr. Greg Daniel wanted to adopt Chekina. He did so when she was 9 years old.

Not long after she was adopted, Dr. Daniel said "sometimes in life you're fortunate enough to get a lot and when you get a lot, the opportunity arises for you to give something back."

Now in 2025, WGRZ's Claudine Ewing revisited the Daniel home where Chekina is thriving and preparing to graduate from The Park School of Buffalo .

She reflected on when she first

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