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An adopted Chinese woman has been reunited with her orphanage “sister” after 17 years of being separated.
Sara Danyao Courdless (18), who was adopted by a family from Madrid, Spain, when she was 11 months old, wrote an appeal on Twitter asking people to help her find her “sister”.
She wrote: “I need to try this, I need to find the girl beside me (in the photo). Now she’s probably 21–23 years old. I don’t know her name and this is the only pic I’ve got. If you recognise yourself in it, please contact me.”
Sara said on social media that the girl was adopted from the orphanage in Hubei in China at the same time as she was.
Sara’s story was picked up by local media and nearly 100 000 Twitter users shared her post.
Within two days the teenager returned to Twitter to say: “I don’t know how to say this because there was a lot of expectation, but we’ve found each other.
“Thanks to everyone for everything you’ve done for me over the past few days and thanks for all the support. After 17 years, we’re together again (her name is Alejandra).”
Sara shared a tender photo of her cuddling up to Alejandra.
The friends were reunited when Alejandra’s cousin saw the Twitter post and got in touch.
Before finding each other, Sara said that from what her parents told her, this girl never separated from her throughout the entire adoption process.
“The translator who accompanied my parents spoke to the girl and she said she was taking care of me in the orphanage.
“As I was only 11 months old and she was about five. She was one of the eldest there and took care of me like a sister.
“The day we had to leave China, the girl kept shouting my name at the airport and tried to get away from her adoptive parents.”
Sara’s parents tried to keep in touch with the girl’s new family, but they lost contact over the years.
But now the friends can get to know each other again.
