Sri Lanka Denmark Family Search

Kamala Jellesen
Hi everyone. My name is Kamala, and I was adopted from Sri Lanka to Denmark in 1983. Pam began a search for me in May 2012. The only information I could give Pam was my mother's name and the birth name, my mother had given me. I didn't have my father's name or a picture of either of them. About a month later, Pam and her employees had found someone, who was related to my mother in some way, but they hadn't established how yet. Soon after I got a mail from Pam telling me, that it was my uncle, they had found, and that he could confirm, my mother still was alive. I was so happy to learn, that my mother was alive. So far so good! Now Pam and her employees had to make contact with my uncle in order to get in touch with my mother, because they couldn't contact my mother directly in case, she was married again, and her new family didn't know anything about me. Pam got in touch with my uncle and explained, why she was looking for my mother. My uncle agreed to help Pam make contact with my mother. My uncle informed my mother and she said no, she wouldn't and couldn't meet me. She was afraid her husband would find out, and she couldn't bring up the past agian, because it was too difficult and painful. Pam asked my uncle, if my mother would meet with Pam only. My mother agreed to this and a meeting was set in all secrecy. Pam asked me for some pictures of me, my husband and children, so she could give them to my mother. And I asked Pam if she could get a picture of my mother, because when I couldn't meet my mother in person, it would mean the world to me to have her picture. Only 1½ month after Pam had begun my search, she met with my mother and took a picture, which I got by mail, and it was amazing!:-) It's very difficult to explain, how I felt, because I was looking at a picture of a woman, who I didn't know, but who still was a big part of me, and who I was a big part of. BUT it doesn't end here. Pam wrote to me, that when she had showed the pictures of me and my family to my mother, my mother was very moved and had asked Pam, when we could cometo Sri Lanka. So she changed her mind and wanted to meet me:-) When I received that mail from Pam, I got busy:-) This was in July, and I arranged for my husband and I and our children to travel to Sri Lanka in October. I was adopted from Kandy, and my mother still lives in Kandy, so I wanted to stay in Kandy. Therefore we stayed 1 week in Kandy and 1 week in Unawatuna just to see different parts of the country and to get near the ocean. In Kandy we were supposed to meet my mother and uncle on Sunday as we arrived Saturday, but this didn't happen, because my mother couldn't get away. Her husband still couldn't know anything, so she had to be very careful. Instead of meeting my mother, we went to the nursing home, where she had left me for adoption. We met a very sweet nun, who showed us around the nursing home, which didn't have babies for adoption anymore, but old people without family and victims from the tsunami without or with very little family left. The nun said, they had a book with all the names of the adopted children through the years. She found the book, we found the year 1983, and there my name was! Again the most amazing experience!:-) My family and I spent the week experiencing Kandy and the sweet sweet people of Sri Lanka. We loved it!!! Finally the last day we were in Kandy, we could meet with my mother and uncle. Pam and I had contact all week by mobile to arrange the meeting. The meeting should take place at our hotel 9.30. I didn't sleep much the night before, and I couldn't eat anything at breakfast. Pam wrote me a text saying,she had arrived in Kandy from Colombo in the place, where she was going to pick up my mother and uncle. Shortly after Pam wrote a text saying, my mother and uncle had arrived, and they all were on their way. 20 minutes later I got a text saying, they had arrived at the hotel. We had arranged for my husband to come down to the reception to meet my mother, uncle and Pam and show them to our room. First Pam came in, and we said hello, and then came my mother. My beautiful mother! I had thought about what to do, when I saw her, but it just came natural, when we stood there. We looked into eachothers eyes, and we just embraced eachother, and I forgot everything around me. It was the best feeling in the world to finally look into my mother's eyes. Pam had prepared me, that the meeting maybe wouldn't take much longer than 15 minutes or at most 30 minutes. But my mother stayed for 2 hours, so I was very Lucky:-) That was my story. In my opinion every adopted child should try to search for their biological family, because it's a part of you whether you feel, you've been missing it or not. And go to Sri Lanka, it's the most beautiful country with the sweetest people. If you have any questions, you are welcome to write me an E-mail. Finally I will wish you all luck with your search.

7/17/2013