Project reunites mothers and children anywhere in the world

By Cenarium*

MANAUS (AM) – The Missing Persons Brazil and Netherlands Institution (PDBeH) will return to Brazil once again to hold the fourth edition of the project “DNA Mothers of Brazil,” offering registration kits for the International Database. The registration process will take place at the auditorium of the Amazonas State Secretariat of Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship (Sejusc) on January 16th, starting at 3 pm, and on the 17th, starting at 9 am.

Mothers who gave their children up for adoption, unaware of their whereabouts, and wish to find them but don’t know where to begin their search can participate in the registration. According to Anna Catharina, director of PDBeH, this is the most effective way to reunite families.

“Genetic data cross-referencing is 100% reliable, precise, and delivers results monthly. It’s a way to discover family ties without the need to search in person for where these families are. Once registered, a mother has the chance to find the person they’re looking for, provided that individual is also entered in the Database,” she said.

Anna Catharina further explained that the project came to this conclusion after research revealed that over half of adopted children living outside Brazil are already registered in the International Database.

“We’ve noticed that these children are interested in learning about their biological families, which is why they register. But why don’t they find their families? It’s simple! Since they live in Europe, these adopted children can afford to register, but this isn’t the reality for mothers in Brazil, making it a vain wait,” the president stated.

For this reason, in 2022, PDBeH launched the project that provide free registration kits for mothers who wish to participate, for free. In 2023, PDBeH visited the States of São Paulo, Paraná and Ceará, registering approximately 90 women.

“It’s worth noting that the Institution constantly receives requests for help from Brazilian mothers asking us to find their children, and these three states mentioned have the highest demand,” said Sônia Memória, the NGO’s representative in Brazil.

According to PDBeH journalist Priscila Serdeira, the NGO is committed to fulfilling the dream of women who, for various reasons, were forced to give up their children and now yearn to learn about their well-being and seek redemption for lost time.

“Throughout the registration process, I’ve heard heartbreaking stories. Women without support to raise their children, who feel guilty for past events, dream of seeing, hugging and asking for forgiveness. I could see the sadness and years of accumulated remorse in their eyes, always accompanied by a narrative explaining their decision,” the journalist recalled.

DJ from Amazonas Holds on to Hope of Finding His Mother

Alfredo Kempen is one of those children who has been searching for any clue about his biological family since his teenage years. The 36-year-old was born in Manaus in 1988 and was adopted that same year by a Dutch family and taken to the Netherlands, where he has lived his entire life. He returned to Manaus in 2016 to try to discover who his biological mother was, undergoing 16 DNA tests, all of which came back negative.

Registered in an International Database, Kempen still hopes to locate a relative someday:

“It’s a hope that doesn’t die. I had given up finding my mother after a long three years of intense searching in Manaus. I stopped looking and put all my faith in the international data cross-referencing system, where I am registered, waiting for a relative to show up there,” he revealed.

Kempen was born at São José Hospital in 1988, and it is known that, as a newborn, his clavicle was broken during delivery. He was handed over to a nurse and spent a few weeks living with Ms.Tereza Sobreira in the Morada do Sol neighbourhood, at Aleixo district. A Dutchman known as Frei Fulgencio was responsible for handing the boy over to the Dutch couple.

(*) With information provided by the press office.

Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves