journey up until today and tell you how
me and my husband became the proud
father’s parents of triplets I’m the
firstborn of Menelaos Manila I had a
brother his name was Ben Manila he
passed away on the tender age of him 12
years old in two and a half weeks from
diagnosed until dying he passed away and
in that time prior to that I realized
that I’m battling I can’t really read
and I can’t write I can read a bit I
could read few words but all my friends
read the book I read half a page and the
teachers realized I’m Dyslexic with it
my brother dying I’m Dyslexic
I decided listening it this is not gonna
work but this is a battle and my brother
dying the Saturday morning that Sunday
my parents started drinking and I’ve
been till today they never stopped I
left home I just turned 15 years old and
I remember the dough into my dad he came
home for largely said to me listen yeah
what’s this buck eating out here huh I’m
moving today he says listen you’re my
son if you leave today you’re not coming
back I said it’s fine
I just wanna have lunch and I did my
stuff and I live and very arrogant the
list
I never realized leaving the house
learnt that fuel for your car invented
medical aid you don’t have insurance you
are pretty much on your own and it
became a struggle for survival putting
food on the table and keeping alive I
started the small garden luckily I loved
gardening and I learned that from my
grandmother she taught me what is
unconditional love when I think the
building then the spelling how to spell
unconditional love is trust honesty and
respect and that lady always stood with
me I promise you they were not one day
she didn’t stand the army foamy in the
morning six o’clock Christos how are you
what are you doing today where are you
going
we returned one day from the supermarket
and a refugee a rubbish truck came in
and I said my granny I want to be a
truck driver sissy great you know what’s
gonna be awesome you’re going to be
travelling and in different areas and
urban suburbs you’re gonna meet people
and gonna keep the community clean and
the next day my mother came and got me
took me home when I left I realize you
know what
my granny loves me no matter if again
read or write no matter what she just
loves me if I’m a truck driver it’s fine
lift home started cleaning a gardening
business cleaning God and scatting Ross
I sold my Walkman it’s a lot of years
ago twenty honey years ago
I’d open sold that sold my portal TV and
aboard alone my cleaning Gardens one
time came to me said listen you’re such
a perfectionist why don’t you come and
build me a wall I saw you did a little
garden age once for me and I say you’re
sure that’s easy pull the garden wall
they know I don’t you want to read you a
bathroom on and I’m like you’re easy
just our work and I promise you please
please never ever ever ever redo a
bathroom for your first project I
promise you it will be your loss it was
a nightmare I learned the art see I just
prayed most of the time I think that’s
how I managed and this business of my
changed I started in landscaping God and
services irrigation and building and
currently I’m building office block
shopping centers in schools what we did
is I am on the form of course but yet
moved off the farm
I make fear my husband we make the 13th
of June and are now people say oh you
have to meet somebody and know each
other for six months or a year and then
this is 13th of June we making the first
of July nine and a half years ago we met
and moved in together I’m at 17 days
something like that and we stayed
together
until now and it was a great laughs he’s
a commercial pilot I’m a builder I’m a
developer profit development
everything’s going very well with us and
we’re flying around on the first I’ll
say we’re flying tonight in London we
had a great laugh but something was they
and I said well first love children I
said let’s try adopting children we went
through the process with going to the
adoption agencies and stuff and it came
down to if you are not a straight couple
although these you’re on a financial
better position to give the child a
loving home and education a straight
couple will always have the privileges
of they have the privileges of you give
him a bit of leverage but a straight
couple will always be the first one in
line to have a child then 2013 14th of
February Valentine’s Day
Oscar Pistorius was my neighbor and
probably it was my best friend I want to
say was is and he shot and killed his
girlfriend and they changed a lot in our
lives for him for the worst and for me
for you here now for a very very
positive story our state witness through
that whole year with all the court cases
and stuff as his witnesses on nerves was
finished it was dead but it was I never
went to have their pardon my laughs and
did Friday one of the statements I said
listen let’s get together and have a big
Bry and South Africa we brought barbecue
and bring red wine and that’s what he
did and the lady came to me while we sit
down where’s your children said no we
don’t have to say why I wanted you dope
I said I stole their stories you go
ahead my head he said Kristen no no no
no no surrogacy
I said surrogate for the main no person
is gonna do that and I left that day I’m
driving from we were up in South Africa
I’m busy on a big a big project and
fewer phones me he says to me I’m listen
I’m gonna send you a message but first
just stop your car what the hell here’s
a message of a lady come
to us telling us she’s a sister of this
state witness its best friend and she
want to give us the gift of life you
know can I say to get for you and I’m
like this is this is not possible just
it’s not possible God time we spoke
about it I don’t think we ate for two
days I eat I’m like we wanted children
Artie and how it’s gonna work made up
with a lady she and her husband and
their three children came to visit us
seven months or three years old and I
think five years old so now I’m like
interviewing her but it’s actually like
a social and she says to me she’s worked
for McCarthy wait a bit before I say
that I said away she’s now in town I
said okay which branch was tell me which
bronze it works out she works in the
same office as my mother they sitting a
desk apart did not even a piece of glass
in between and I knew this is a sign go
for it
we went for it the tall surrogate thing
my mother and we told my mom listening
you need to behave my city sitting in
the same office as you and we went to
court
got our high courts application done
granted you go from mental physical and
financial or in a while financial but
financial variation planted in once
didn’t get pregnant
next time planning again we were
expecting twins between six and eight
weeks some not hundred percent sure many
weeks we had a miscarriage
and God worked that day with me because
of our safety people I have you wanna
undone to even a if ever and want a
child if you don’t if you fell pregnant
and you’re not married you’re not happy
go for abortion listen yeah by losing
their children a learned gift of life is
not in your hands we planted in a gang
didn’t fall pregnant we went back to
court reapplied you’re only allowed
three times in South Africa and first
time we go to a doctor it’s nice but
it’s not like that specially when sense
and it’s not you drinks there bring
drinks entrees to you and at hospital
and what this play normal doctors play
planted in too
now it worked this DNA so me and my
husband
so they take your sperm they take your
donors eggs they wash it and then they
divide it up so half of the eggs the
washed it you get six to eight eggs gets
divided a four for me and for for my
husband we took that planted it in and
one funny thing that day when the doctor
plant I say to him doctor um when he
came out I said you did that in three I
and he laughed he said no no you
remember your quote order only says to
your surrogate agree I said I’m just
joking I said just but just maybe and I
remember that words up until today so we
are we found out we were pregnant we
came to Cyprus the Baathist o2 to a
Polish with my family visited here we
just bought a new car HPV for the twins
we gonna have twins guys we found out
these twins in fact is that African I’ve
got a friend is the South African singer
and he all the media’s around us I got
this place we go for a friend of them
that they way they do for these scans so
did the 4d scan and I’m like baby number
one oh there’s a penis I think there’s a
penis the doctor and she goes next one
maybe another penis and she keeps quiet
and I’m a deaf doctor my father was a
doctor and I’m like yes see if a doctor
keeps quiet these problems she says he’s
another baby
my husband it was just if this if that
if they said I’m laughing I’m giggle I
haven’t stopped until today and the
nicest thing I promise the lady we got
for surrogate she never complained up
until today about anything she was lying
on that table these three babies and
they the only word she said is oh thank
you
no no I’ve got this mess bracing on my
pelvis
because these three so you’re what
happened we it was a journey seven days
after that our doctor advised us to do
abortion with that’s one of the goals
and that’s the boy those those are the
two identical twins and that’s the boy
that’s Josh are Caitlin Zoey and that’s
Josh run they said these twenty20 on
fusion is he’s gonna cost you your
pregnancy a boat pregnancy with
identical twins immediately 31 weeks
late
Saturday morning on site a call she was
on hospital ready because of organ
failure they seek to us listen here that
time has come off beautiful three babies
was born
Joshua Caitlin Zoey we knew she’s got a
heart problem one of our daughters Inlet
and outlet into her heart is in the same
heart chamber and that was a biggest joy
I ever could have no money no holiday no
gift accept this gift of children could
explain to you there’s the three
gremlins what we experienced and they
told us they’re gonna have up but they
can’t tell us exactly when the
operations gonna be depends on how
strong she she need to be about 4 kgs
she can’t have the operation when she
stole they were born 1.2 1.3 and 1 point
8 kgs they were small they were all
together not even the weight of normal
own baby and the 29th of September this
year
sorry if I’m trying but yeah I got a
call he told me you have to come quickly
to hospital and her heart stopped and it
was I never went that day ever again but
the funniest thing happened a hard stop
she never lost consciousness and she
never ever closed their eyes if you
stood on the left inside she looked at
you she was lying there
you rushed we stay we’ve got qualified
nurses working for us they and I luckily
they started assassinating her and
keeping the oxygen through an otter
brain damage and let’s go and I’m the
doctor said to us he stood like this he
says I’m very sorry
she’s holding my hands no it’s the
muscles contracting one lady a gay lady
actually buy a button just at Berkeley
incident rushed nurse rushed outside and
call the ambulance stuff they’ve got
special qualifications and said coming
help they came in they worked three
hours on our child before they could
lifted to a hot Hospital tickity they
stabilized she’s getting open-heart
surgery
next Friday this Friday should have
happen yesterday I said I’m coming to
take two so sir I’m here and there I was
in Cyprus and this has been the biggest
day on our way these are my best friend
Hendrik myself and Felice well that’s
the angel in our house she’s on nurse
and there’s my husband on the end second
of they’re not the end that’s all the
guy and so what I’m gonna say is this is
this is the part of forming the new the
New World Order
changing stuff we are so used to the God
waking up in the morning and going to
bed the same way every day take the
chance and laugh trust each other and I
already get trust you deserve nobody
nobody gate trust for free prove
yourself in a relationship if you’ve got
trust you’ve got respect
you’ve got respect there’s honesty
that’s what we lack in this world and I
want to say as a gay man I’m a proud gay
man we’ve got both we’ve got three
children of one mother with two dads
it’s this is awesome this is weird
that’s actually freaky if I think about
it and um yeah so I don’t know how we
could explain today one day let’s City
we got the same are you the same age but
you’re two daddies but it’s it’s gonna
well you helped me I think this
everything starts was in Greek so they
give us the RPM Cypriot I don’t speak
the language you have to help me
so I’ve strayed my journey with you and
nothing is impossible nothing is
impossible I didn’t eat food to eat
we’re doing a charity in South Africa
looking after 400 children every single
day HIV orphans and look where I started
I can’t read contract really it’s a
battle they ask me wage your takes I
couldn’t give me I country I’ve got
people doing it whether I can say my
life journey with
range lady okay topping my Australia one
of my secretaries typing a thing my best
friend taught me a little memo or note
every few seconds it changes because
it’s my heart and I want to motivate you
and go for it nothing is impossible
please and I’m gonna coming back to
Cyprus we’re selling everything in South
Africa and I wouldn’t be part of this
awesome crowd I haven’t seen I was
sitting here and I’m looking at I don’t
know that’s feeling you’ve got a spirit
you in Cyprus it’s amazing thanks for
having me [Applause]