Simona a New Zealand Kiwi brought up by adoption through Francis and her husband Went Looking For Her Romanian Birth Mother | a true Lost & Found Real Families story will break your heart. Simona born in 1985 got adopted out in 1988 went back to Rumania in 2014 but Lost & found a New Zealand Family Heritage and Reunion Program.
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00:00Tonight on Lost and Found.
00:1025 years ago, Simona was rescued from a Romanian orphanage and given a new life in New Zealand.
00:17I'd get verbally, racially told to go back to my own country.
00:21Now she's heading back to Romania to try to find her birth mother.
00:24It's where I came to sign the consent.
00:27I don't have any idea why I was given away.
00:29And it may not be possible to find the answer.
00:32Do you have any records here?
00:34No.
00:35Families that are lost and found.
00:37Angry for many, many years.
00:40They're always unpredictable.
00:43Simona Watkinson's life story is one of resilience and discovery.
00:47She was rescued from Romania during its turbulent times and later adopted in New Zealand, where
00:52she grew up.
00:53Her journey to reconnect with her Romanian birth mother was documented in David Lomas
00:58Investigates, a heartfelt series that reunites families and uncovers lost histories.
01:04One of the most outstanding, remarkable story.
01:07Very tearful.
01:08Awesome.
01:09Simona, a New Zealand Kiwi brought up by adoption through Francis and her husband, went looking
01:15for her Romanian birth mother.
01:16A true lost and found real family story will break your heart.
01:21Simona born in 1985 got adopted out in 1988, went back to Romania in 2014 but lost and
01:27found a New Zealand family heritage and reunion program.
01:31Sponsored by Foxygames, Lost and Found is a New Zealand documentary series that sets
01:36about reuniting families, uncovering cultural identity and discovering lost family heritage.
01:42Simona Watkinson's journey is deeply moving a testament to resilience, identity, and the
01:48unbreakable bonds of family.
01:50Every time you watch it, you probably uncover new emotions and perspectives.
01:55It's incredible how stories like hers can leave a lasting impact.
01:59What stood out to you the most?
02:01Simona Watkinson, a New Zealand adopted at the age of 3 Romanian girl age 28, went looking
02:07for her Romanian birth mother very inspiring documentary.
02:11One of the most outstanding, remarkable story.
02:14Just love it.
02:15Very tearful.
02:16Awesome.
02:17Simona, a New Zealand Kiwi brought up by adoption through Francis and her husband, went looking
02:23for her Romanian birth mother.
02:24A true lost and found real family story will break your heart.
02:28Thanks to Foxygames who bring about this Lost and Found New Zealand documentary series that
02:33sets about reuniting families but very importantly uncovering cultural identity and discovering
02:39lost family heritage.
02:41Excellent.
02:42Just sit down and watch it but don't cry.
03:12I have a son now and I would like him to know where he's from and who his family is.
03:17I've always wanted to know my birth mother.
03:20I also know I have brothers and sisters over there.
03:23Can you help me please?
03:27In order to move forward, sometimes you have to go back.
03:36Simona Watkinson is 28 years old, almost exactly the same age her Romanian birth mother was
03:43when she handed over her baby to an orphanage.
03:45Do you want to pick some more flowers over there Griffin?
03:49Today Simona works in a paint shop and is a single mum to 3 year old Griffin.
03:54Griffin's dad is not involved in raising his son and Simona brings him up with lots of
03:59family support.
04:13So you want some help to find your mum in Romania?
04:15Yeah I do.
04:18In New Zealand you walked into quite a family didn't you?
04:21Well I came into a rather large family actually.
04:25I've got a brother and two sisters and I grew up with a family dog and a happy childhood.
04:30I got taught how to speak English and learn how to swim but when it came to primary school
04:36I'd get verbally, racially told to go back to my own country and who are you and where
04:42are you from and I couldn't answer those questions.
04:47And those taunts and things that I received from the children, it made me feel like an
04:51alien because I don't have that knowledge of where I'm from and who I'm about.
04:56I'm a Kiwi at heart but there is a part of me that's missing and I need to know what
05:02that part is.
05:03I'm wanting to know what that part is.
05:05My birth mother, I think she was a very strong woman to give up a child.
05:12In regards to my own son, I would never have been able to give him up for adoption, that's
05:19not something that I would have been able to do.
05:22That's a very hard thing for a mother to do, to give her child away and I think she's a
05:27strong woman for that.
05:33For the past 25 years, Frances Watkinson has been Simona's mother.
05:40You were a mum of three teenagers, why did you go to Romania to adopt a child?
05:45We went to Romania because we heard in the media all the terrible things that were happening
05:50to children and one of my sisters told us that that's what they were going to do and
05:56we had had that in our mind for a little while and it just really cemented the idea that
06:01we might help a child, that we had room, that we had love in our hearts and that we wanted
06:06to share that with a child who perhaps didn't have those opportunities.
06:12When Frances and her then husband went to Romania, they'd already seen terrible television
06:17images of abandoned children.
06:19Many were severely traumatised, starved and tied to chairs.
06:24But nothing prepared them for the horrors they were to witness.
06:28We saw children lumped together in groups, some of the things in the bedrooms and bathrooms
06:35were appalling, children eating while sitting on the potty.
06:40Our worry was that these children were going to have difficulties developing into normal
06:46functioning adults.
06:49Frances, a social worker, understood family dynamics.
06:54The prospect of adopting a child that had been potentially damaged by the orphanage
06:58experience did not faze her.
07:02Once we met Simona, there was no way we wanted to leave her there.
07:06The Watkinsons took lots of photos.
07:08Daughter Andrea was eight at the time of Simona's adoption.
07:12You actually picked us because we went into the orphanage and there were all these kids,
07:17about 17 of them, and the man who took us in went to the staff and said,
07:22where's the child, Simona?
07:25And by then, you had done this flying jump into your father's arms and he turned around
07:32and the staff said, that's Simona, and he said, how did you know that was the child, Simona?
07:37And we said, we didn't.
07:39But it was because you were the oldest in that group and I think that you had a bit of mana.
07:51The Watkinsons were just one family of 150 from New Zealand who went to Romania to help
07:58and brought children back to raise them in what they hoped would be a better life.
08:04I don't see her as not being my biological child.
08:07I don't ever think there is any reason to see her differently than the other three.
08:14She's just my daughter.
08:18You were very smart when you came home.
08:20You still are.
08:22I'm quite a confident being.
08:25I couldn't believe how beautiful you were and that if this was going to be for real,
08:30that we would get so lucky.
08:31You know, like, you were beautiful.
08:36You had dirty hair and you were very smelly, but you were beautiful.
08:41During the adoption process, Simona's birth mother was required to sign a consent form,
08:47so Francis got a fleeting glimpse of the woman who was giving Simona up.
08:52I wanted to tell her about me, sort of to say, you know,
08:58um, Simona's going to be OK.
09:03How does it feel for you that your daughter is now looking for her birth mum?
09:08I'm really, really excited.
09:10Even though this is not excitement, I am really, really happy for her.
09:15No matter what, I just want her to know what her birth connections are,
09:20but also how that fits with her culture and her heritage,
09:23and to be able to pass that on to her little boy.
09:27It's important to me that she does it, and I'm 100% there with her.
09:32So this is the story of Simona's two mothers —
09:36the one who gave her life and the one who gave her a home.
09:41Simona, thanks to Francis, has her full adoption records, although much of it's in Romanian.
09:48She knows her date of birth, her name, and the name of her birth mother, Maria Motoc.
09:55And from what Francis has told her, it appears she had brothers and sisters.
10:00I need to find someone in Romania to help me — a person on the ground with local knowledge.
10:06Hello, is that Mihai?
10:08Look, I'm looking for a bit of help.
10:10I'm coming to Romania shortly to try and track down a woman,
10:14and I need not only help with interpreting, but a little bit of help with searching for her.
10:21That sounds like you?
10:22I head to Romania to find a woman who may not appreciate me searching for her.
10:27That's if she's even alive.
10:44Romania. I arrive in the city of Iași and then head to the northeast of the country,
10:50to the town where Simona was born.
10:54Up until 1989, communist Romania was behind the Iron Curtain.
10:59But after the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his speedy execution, everything changed.
11:08Since 2007, Romania has been a member of the European Union.
11:13I'm in Suceava, a city of over 100,000 in Romania's northeast.
11:19Mihai Radu, a Romanian journalist and interpreter, briefs me on how things work in Romania.
11:26It's a country of red tape. There's bureaucracy everywhere.
11:31Finding Maria Motoc won't be easy.
11:34Finding Maria Motoc won't be easy.
11:36The good news is that Mihai has found the location of Simona's orphanage,
11:41and has official permission for us to visit the next day.
11:45Great square.
11:47Yeah. Typical communist square.
11:50Centre of town.
11:52Very utilitarian.
11:54Yeah, indeed. Communists block the flats all around.
11:57I made a call to the town hall of Litani, where she was born, the mother of Simona.
12:02Looks like nobody knows her.
12:04Usually in small villages, they know each other, they know where they are and what they do.
12:08So what do you recommend next?
12:10Since we are in the town of Suceava, I suggest to go to the orphanage,
12:14see whether the orphanage is still in place,
12:16and hoping that they will have a phone number or something.
12:20Sounds like a good place to start. Let's go.
12:26When the regime collapsed, around 50,000 children went into state care.
12:32About half into orphanages.
12:35You think this is the orphanage?
12:37Yeah, this is the orphanage.
12:39Most were not actually orphans, but in a country in economic ruin,
12:43their parents, including Simona's mother, couldn't afford to look after them.
12:48The paintings and all that, it certainly looks like it could have been, doesn't it?
12:51Yeah, indeed, yeah.
12:53Go and see, eh?
12:55The building is now offices for the Romanian Child Services.
13:01All that's left of the old orphanage, where Simona spent 18 months,
13:05are murals painted on the outside walls.
13:08We have luck. One of the administrators used to work at the orphanage.
13:13So this definitely was the orphanage?
13:16Yes, the orphanage of St. Maria Suceava.
13:20Aha, the orphanage of St. Maria Suceava.
13:25And how many children were here?
13:31Up to 400 children.
13:33And we, the social workers, we tried to get the children out of here into foster families.
13:37You used to work here, didn't you? So what was it like for the children?
13:47There were small rooms, with children 0 to 3 years old.
13:52Imagine lots of children and very little stuff, so imagine the conditions.
13:56We're trying to find what happened to one child and trying to find her birth mother.
14:01Do you have any records here which could help us?
14:05No.
14:07Thank you, anyway.
14:09Welcome.
14:14It's good to get a sense of where Simona lived.
14:17If Simona's mother, Maria, is alive, she could be anywhere.
14:21Many Romanians have become economic refugees,
14:24which means they now live and work all over Europe.
14:28We need official help.
14:30And in this former communist country, that means the police.
14:36I have good news.
14:38At the permanent search, they found her in a town over the woods.
14:41She lives there temporarily.
14:42So she's alive?
14:43She's alive and well.
14:46Before we head to Redoute's 40-minute drive away,
14:49I decide it's time to call Simona back in New Zealand.
14:53Hi, Simona, it's David here.
14:55Hi.
14:56Hi, Frances and Andrea.
14:58Hi.
14:59Well, look, as you can probably see, I'm actually here in Romania.
15:03I'm in Suceava.
15:05And we've made a bit of progress in trying to find your mum.
15:09Yep.
15:10Look, I just have to stress, though, we haven't found her yet.
15:13OK.
15:14But it's good knowing that she's alive and that she is in Romania.
15:18Really?
15:19And we know which town she's in.
15:23I was wondering whether you could come over here to Romania
15:27because I think we can find her.
15:30Seriously?
15:31Shaking like one thing.
15:41So do you think you could come over?
15:44Yep, yep, definitely.
15:47Yep.
15:49I don't believe it.
15:51I'm so happy for you.
15:59So you'd better start learning a few Romanian phrases.
16:03Oh, my goodness.
16:07Well, I look forward to seeing you here.
16:09Thanks.
16:10Bye.
16:11Bye.
16:14Not only is Simona coming,
16:16but her family has decided that Francis and Andrea will both come to support her.
16:21Meanwhile, Mihai and I head for Redouts.
16:24It's a town of 20,000 people.
16:27Hopefully, we'll find Maria Motok before the Watkinsons get here.
16:31But we strike a problem.
16:35The local police have no record of Maria Motok,
16:38so we visit the local council
16:42in the hope that they may have some information.
16:56The local council also has no record of Maria.
16:59We don't have time to wait for official help,
17:02so we have no choice but to start doing our own detective work.
17:12Is there a cyclist? Do you want to stop the cyclist and see if we can get him?
17:21No, not this family.
17:23No, she doesn't know.
17:28Finally, we find someone who tells us she knows where Maria Motok lives
17:32and can give us directions to her house.
17:39But it's the wrong address.
17:41I'm beginning to wonder if I'm dragging Simona, Andrea and their mother halfway across the world only to disappoint them.
17:49Simona Watkinson, the 28-year-old former Romanian orphan, is back in her homeland on a quest to find a mother who abandoned her.
18:17Supporting her, her New Zealand mother and sister, Frances and Andrea Watkinson.
18:23With virtually no memory of Romania, Simona is eager to understand the country she left behind as a three-year-old in 1990.
18:32It's pretty amazing, isn't it?
18:34Look at this.
18:35The colours of the roofs are quite vibrant on these houses.
18:38Oh my God, look at this awesome car coming up.
18:41Wow.
18:48Despite the fact that Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe, life is now more prosperous than it was at the time of the Ceaușescu regime.
18:59There's something to be said for keeping your history, isn't there?
19:03Yes, I'm sure.
19:04Not just going ultra-modern.
19:07I saw a lady leaving the eight pretzels on it.
19:12Oh, goodness, look at these.
19:15Can I get one of these chocolate…
19:18Yes.
19:21Just one.
19:33Happy?
19:35Mmm.
19:39Really good.
19:40Still can't even believe that I'm actually here.
19:42Do you want me to pinch you?
19:47Frances is recalling for Simona what she can remember of the adoption process all those years ago.
19:57I think this is the building.
20:00This is where we came to meet Maria and get her to sign the consent.
20:07Does it look still the same?
20:10I don't know. There's a familiarity about it, but remember it was all winter.
20:15What did she say to you or look like on that day that you spoke to her?
20:20Well, I didn't speak Romanian and she didn't speak English, but she was short.
20:26She had on a scarf and I could see that she had fair hair.
20:31She had a small baby with her and she seemed to me to be a lovely person.
20:36For Frances, coming back to Raduz evokes a strange mix of feelings,
20:41some relating to the past and some to the present.
20:45Simona, who left Romania when she was barely three,
20:49soaks in the sights and the smells as she struggles to reconnect with her origins.
20:55Amazing country, isn't it?
20:57This church was here 300 years before Tasman got to New Zealand.
21:02It's almost unbelievable, isn't it?
21:05What do you think life would have been like for Simona if she'd stayed here?
21:10In the early years, I think it would have been fairly harsh.
21:13I think she probably would have stayed in an orphanage until she was 15 or 16,
21:18and then I don't know what from there on.
21:22Being here must be quite hard for you
21:25because essentially your daughter's come looking for another mother.
21:30I'm just really glad that I'm part of it with her.
21:34I just feel happy for her that she'll get some answers
21:38about who she is and where she came from.
21:42Like the others, she's my daughter and I'm still her mum.
21:49And her birth mother is an important person in her life.
21:54And you, are you ready?
21:56I hope so. Yeah, I hope so.
22:00I feel excited, but I also think,
22:04gosh, I don't want her to be hurt.
22:09I suppose that's the big thing.
22:12I just hope it's all good.
22:20The Watkinsons have been in Romania for three days.
22:24If it's a deeply emotional experience for Frances,
22:28it's even more complex for Simona.
22:31It's quite a surprise actually.
22:34I was expecting a lot more poverty,
22:37so it's actually quite nice to come here.
22:39It's like a breath of fresh air.
22:41It makes me feel whole.
22:43Whereas I feel more at home here than I do in New Zealand
22:47because I know that my family is here somewhere.
22:51Do you have regrets about going to New Zealand
22:56or being taken to New Zealand?
22:58No, not really.
23:00Just knowing what life would have been like
23:03back when I was adopted.
23:05I think I got given the opportunity in New Zealand
23:10to be able to grow up and live and know how to be a person.
23:15I have regrets of the way that I felt
23:19about being adopted and being taken out of my birthplace
23:25and then taken to another place
23:27and having to learn how to get by
23:30not knowing your own native tongue
23:34and having people treat you differently
23:37because you're not from around there.
23:41Whereas here, now that I've come back to Romania,
23:44I feel like I'm more...
23:48that part of me is still here
23:50and I'm needing to get that part back.
23:53Your mum did try to give you
23:55some Romanian upbringing in New Zealand.
23:58I think I probably get more of it while I'm here
24:01than when I was growing up in New Zealand.
24:06I have more of an understanding now
24:08of what mum had told me and taught me about Romania.
24:12Now that I'm actually here,
24:13I kind of get a fulfilment of that information
24:16and I understand it more now
24:19than when I did when I was younger.
24:21Now that I've come here and I've kind of
24:23think about some of those things that I've thought
24:26or possibly have said,
24:31I regret thinking that way.
24:33Now that I'm back here, it's just...
24:36it makes me feel alive more.
24:40I feel like I've got closure now that I've come here,
24:42but more closure when I get to meet my mother.
24:50If you get to meet her.
24:51If I get to meet her.
24:55There's a little girl on a swing over there.
24:58Do you ever think that could have been you?
25:00Yeah, I do.
25:02Yeah, I do. It could have been me.
25:10But then again, if I had been in an orphanage,
25:15I don't think you would have been given that opportunity
25:17to be able to be in the park and playing on a swing.
25:21But if my mother hadn't given me up, then I don't know.
25:25I probably could have been that kid on that swing over there.
25:28Don't you feel the time has come for you to see the light?
25:38Mihai, meanwhile, has made some progress
25:41finding an address for Maria.
25:45So, you think it's...
25:47the lady reckons it's going to be this house?
25:49Yeah, definitely this house.
25:51Let's hope it's the right woman.
25:54And she's willing, because it will be a big surprise on her.
25:57We now know where Maria lives,
25:59but we have no idea how she'll react.
26:12Is this the right lady?
26:13Yeah, she's the mother.
26:15So, we've found her.
26:17This is Simona's birth mother.
26:19She's the mother of Simona.
26:21We tell her that her long lost daughter is looking for her.
26:24She's in complete shock.
26:26She's surprised that I won't visit.
26:28She has to think through.
26:30I'll give her my number,
26:32and I'll ask her to call once she's settled
26:34and talk to the other members of the family.
26:36It's impossible to tell whether Maria is happy or angry.
26:40I decide this is not the moment to show her
26:43the video message Simona has done for her.
26:50This feels like it could go either way.
26:53How do I tell Simona that her mother might not want to see her?
26:59When I did the video call to you in New Zealand,
27:02and I said that your mother was alive when we were searching,
27:06and I said there was jeopardy.
27:08Yep.
27:09Well, I met your mother yesterday.
27:15And, um, there's a big but.
27:18Yes.
27:20She's in total shock.
27:22And, uh, she at the moment hasn't agreed to meet you.
27:43Simona Watkinson is a 28-year-old mother from South Auckland.
27:47She's in Romania with her mum and her sister,
27:50hoping to find her birth mother.
27:52Well, I met your mother yesterday.
27:58And, um, there's a big but.
28:01Yes.
28:04She's in total shock.
28:07And, uh, she at the moment hasn't agreed to meet you.
28:21It's understandable.
28:24Mihai and I met her, and, uh, as I say, she's in total shock.
28:30But she has Mihai's number,
28:32and hopefully she'll ring either this evening or tomorrow morning
28:36and let us know whether she will meet you.
28:51She did say she'd thought about you.
28:54Is she far away, Dad?
28:56It's about two kilometres away.
28:58She's so close.
29:00Yeah.
29:02We need to give her a bit of time.
29:09So, it's not great news, but it's progress.
29:15Well, at least she knows I'm here.
29:18Well, at least she knows I'm here.
29:20She knows you're here?
29:22She knows you're looking for her?
29:24A nervous 24 hours?
29:26Yes.
29:34Waiting on her birth mother's decision is hard for Simona.
29:38So, to help fill in the time,
29:40I ask our interpreter, Mihai Radu,
29:43who was a student during the communist era,
29:45to tell Simona about Romania's dark days.
29:48So, Mihai, when Ceaușescu got overthrown,
29:51what was life like here in Romania?
29:53It was no food available on the market,
29:55power cut, no heating in the homes.
29:58So, it would have been tough for, like, my birth mother
30:01and three or four children back then?
30:03A single mother without being married in a communist Romania,
30:06oh, it was outrageous.
30:08Was it a common thing for a lot of children
30:10to be sort of adopted out or put into orphanages?
30:12Oh, yeah, yeah.
30:14They just couldn't afford to raise them.
30:16This was a problem.
30:18No money, no food.
30:20The expected time of Maria's call comes and goes.
30:23Mihai and I sit down and try to come up with a back-up plan.
30:26But then...
30:31I have no idea who Mihai is talking to.
30:37Good news. Just call us.
30:39She's good to go.
30:41Just call me now.
30:43She said no, she's willing to meet Simona.
30:45Cheers.
30:52Maria has said she will meet us.
30:54But will she really come?
30:56It's a nervous wait.
30:58We don't know how she really feels about Simona.
31:01She'll be coming.
31:03And the adoption all those years ago.
31:05So, what time was she going to be here?
31:07Two o'clock.
31:11Let's hope she turns up.
31:13It'll be interesting to find out
31:15what she's thought about all these years.
31:23Hello again.
31:27Maria brings her two youngest, Paul and Alexandra.
31:30Both were born into the new Romania.
31:33But it's the bad old Romania I want to ask her about.
31:36What happened?
31:38Why did you give her up for adoption?
31:40Why did you give her up for adoption?
31:42What happened?
31:44Why did you give her up?
31:46Her father was in a bad situation.
31:48He had some problems.
31:50I had to work.
31:52We didn't have anything to do.
31:54We didn't have any money.
31:56Maybe we'll see.
31:58Maybe Simona will go to England.
32:00She can't really come.
32:02So, Simona has a full brother.
32:04Simona has a brother and a father.
32:06Yes, and a father.
32:09But then his father came
32:12and took him away from me
32:14and raised him somewhere else.
32:22Maria explains that Simona was adopted
32:25because the man she describes as her husband,
32:27who's now dead,
32:29did not want to look after another man's child.
32:32When we knocked on the door
32:34and said Simona is looking for you,
32:37how did you feel?
32:55Simona has done a message
32:57which she would like me to show you.
33:01Do you want to see what it looks like?
33:03Yes, I want to see.
33:09Press the button.
33:31Here in my backyard,
33:33I just feel like something's missing
33:35and I would really love for me to meet you
33:37and get to know who you are
33:39and so for you to get to know who I am.
33:41And I would really, really love for you
33:43to say yes to that.
33:51I would like you to meet also.
33:53I would like to hug you.
33:56I can't wait to see her,
33:58to hug her.
34:05She resembles me like I was young years ago.
34:10Paul and Alexandra,
34:12are you happy to have a big sister?
34:21Yes, I am.
34:22Yeah, they are very excited.
34:24They look forward to seeing Simona.
34:26That's great.
34:28Maria was 22 and unmarried
34:30when she got pregnant for the first time
34:32with Simona's older brother.
34:34It was a time when contraception
34:36was outlawed in Romania.
34:38She went on to have six children.
34:41As we've heard, Simona's full brother
34:44was taken away when Simona was just a baby.
34:49Despite her hardships,
34:51Maria has had the same job since she was 16.
34:54She varnishes wood in a furniture factory,
34:57but at 51 is hoping for early retirement.
35:03The past 24 hours have been tough for the Watkinsons.
35:06Lots of tea and lots of tears.
35:11Hiya David.
35:12I've got some news for you.
35:15We got a phone call last night
35:17and I've just been to meet with your mother again.
35:22And she'd love to meet you.
35:29We met her down at a local park
35:32and showed her that video you did.
35:35And she was in tears watching it.
35:42She said she'd never forgotten you
35:45and always hoped that you'd return.
35:48She told us that after Mihai and I
35:50met her that Thursday,
35:51she went inside and cried.
35:53Her children came and said,
35:54Mum, why are you crying?
35:56And she said, because my daughter's coming back.
36:14It's wonderful.
36:20I almost feel like I've gone full circle now.
36:26This is me.
36:28This is my place to be.
36:36I get closure from it.
36:39She's very excited to meet you too, Frances.
36:43I bet she is.
36:46We're a twosome.
36:48You can't get one without the other.
36:51So, happy?
36:53Quite happy about it, really.
36:55And a lot more.
36:56I'm clearer on where I stand in the world
36:58and where I stand as a person,
37:00more than anything.
37:04And it's enlightened me.
37:06It's actually made me feel a lot better as a person.
37:12Because I was angry for many, many years, Mum.
37:15I'm really sorry.
37:21That constant, why me?
37:25And being told by many people that I should feel grateful
37:27that I got adopted out.
37:40So, Frances, 25 years ago you came to Romania
37:43to try and help a young child and...
37:46you ended up with Simona.
37:48Yep.
37:49Today's the day she's going to meet her birth mum.
37:53So I'm going to leave it to you
37:56to organise taking Simona to meet her other mum.
38:01Right.
38:02Off you go, take her over there.
38:04Come on.
38:08You know,
38:10there's still some things I feel like I need to say.
38:13And you know that this is about happiness.
38:16And I knew we'd be back to do this.
38:20Because this was as much of your life as it,
38:22as what has been with us.
38:24Yep.
38:34It's the right time, sweetie.
38:37It totally is.
38:41You're doing so well.
38:57Simona.
39:02Supporting her are her mother, Frances,
39:05and her big sister, Andrea.
39:07A new day and a huge addition to your life.
39:10A different way that I'll look at life.
39:12Just around the corner, Maria is waiting.
39:15So too is one of Simona's half-sisters, Raluca,
39:19who has arrived overnight from Germany.
39:22Simona.
39:37Simona.
40:08When I saw Simona hug Maria,
40:11I thought that this is a life-changing event for her.
40:17It's been so long for me to wait to be able to see her
40:20and be able to hug her.
40:22It's just amazing.
40:25Wow.
40:28Simona's so nice.
40:30How are you?
40:38I'm so happy to see you.
40:52You look just like my brother.
40:55Yeah?
40:56Yes, you're dancing.
40:58I don't know, your eyes.
41:08He was happy to watch me.
41:16She doesn't have the words to describe it.
41:20It was so emotional, so happy.
41:29It's fitting that Simona has two sisters here,
41:32a Romanian one and a Kiwi one.
41:36And each is supporting their own mother.
41:41Hi, I'm Andrea.
41:43Hugging Maria, I just felt really grateful.
41:46So good to see you.
41:48I'm really happy for her as she's connected with her mum.
41:59Can you say to Maria,
42:01Simona has her two mums together.
42:05Simona has her two mums together.
42:18Having both my mums there, it's so surreal.
42:21It's like a dream.
42:24It's just wonderful.
42:27It's amazing.
42:36For Maria, the return of her daughter is a blessing,
42:39and she needs to take Simona to a special place.
42:44A devout Romanian Orthodox,
42:46she takes Simona to where she often prayed for her return.
42:51This is a prayer to baptise you.
43:01My mum took me to the church that I was baptised in.
43:14My birth family, being a religious family,
43:17was quite a moving time for me, I think,
43:20because I didn't realise that I had the religious roots.
43:23You need to kiss the ashes.
43:26Thanks.
43:46When she was born, my mum said
43:50I was baptised because you need a guardian angel,
43:57because you need something to take care of you.
44:04She was...
44:20Put on her...
44:27What is that? Fish?
44:29Maria has prepared a Romanian feast to celebrate Simona's return,
44:34and at the dinner, another of Simona's sisters, Anastasia.
44:39So, you two are half-sisters.
44:43Yes? Yes.
44:45Anastasia cannot understand how her mother could have given a child away.
44:50She wants to know why it was Simona, and not her,
44:53the baby at the time, who was placed in the orphanage.
44:57For the first time, Raluca and Anastasia discover
45:01that it was their father who didn't want Simona.
45:05I'm really pleased that we've had this conversation
45:08because it was an important one to have.
45:10Simona now has the answers she was looking for,
45:13including the name of her birth father,
45:15and may one day try to find him too.
45:18I'm a lot more happier now than knowing where I'm from and who I am, definitely.
45:23It's cleared a lot of darkness from my life, for sure.
45:32Simona has not only met her birth mother, Maria,
45:35she's also met her Romanian grandmother,
45:37and she's been in contact with her full brother, Tiberu,
45:41who she hopes to meet one day.
45:43Back in New Zealand, Simona's happily keeping in touch with them all.
45:48The most significant change I've seen in Simona
45:51is that she's a lot lighter about who she is.
45:55It's one of the best things we've done.
45:57We have this other whole family that are part of us because of Simona.
46:02They're both very strong women, and it was good to see them reunite again,
46:06and almost like as though they were best of friends.
46:11For more UN videos visit www.un.org