Abandoned in a shoebox as a newborn, Jean Griffiths always hoped to return to the orphanage where she spent her early years.
The 52-year-old, of Auckland, was adopted by a New Zealand family in the 1960s but longed to revisit Sha-Tin Babies Home in Hong Kong.
Not long after she shared her moving story with the Weekly, Jean finally raised enough funds to attend a reunion at the home, where she was able to meet other orphans and the caregivers who raised her.
“When I first arrived in New Zealand at age six, I wailed constantly and repeated the Chinese word for ‘airplane’ because I wanted to go home. And finally, I was there. I could imagine myself as a little girl, running around the historic building, high on a hill over the city.”
oeeting fellow orphans was the same as reuniting with long-lost siblings, says Jean.
“We were all given the same surname, Tin, and had so much to talk over about our lives after the orphanage.
Sadly, one guy hadn’t been adopted. When the last orphan left, he felt deserted and cried for a long time. I thought I’d had a sad start in life but his life was also tragic.”
Jean also met the two missionaries who had raised her and are now running another home for children.
“It was a wonderful trip for me and I learned so much about myself in so many ways. I even found out that my birthday isn’t 15 August, but 24 August. So, I’ve not only come back happier, I’m also younger!”
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