Orphaned best friends from India reunited 10 years later in Canada
Ten years ago, two best friends at an orphanage in India were separated. Tara Singh was four when she was adopted into a Kelowna, B.C., family, while a family in Norway welcomed five year old Anna Dalhaug.
The two girls have kept in touch through Facebook, but for the first time since their adoptions, they were reunited in Canada thanks to Mohini Singh, Tara's adoptive mother.
"Well my daughter really has missed Anna for 10 years, so my gift to her was we were going to help Anna come to Canada so they could have this reunion," Mohini Singh told Daybreak South's Chris Walker. Tara was very emotional about this relationship and I felt this would complete the circle for her."
Tara says she still remembers the first time she met her friend Anna.
"I was really sick...and a lot of kids in the orphanage didn't want to come near. The only person who came near me was Anna," says Tara.
"She said to me, 'I'm here, I will be there for you, don't be worried."
Anna said that response came easy to her.
"I'm the kind of person who loves everyone whether they're healthy or sick … she's like my little sister."
Anna will be in B.C. for the next three weeks before she leaves to return to her home in Norway. Tara says she promises her the full West Coast experience by taking her to Vancouver, going parasailing, and camping in the wilderness.
"I really want to show her off to my friends," says Tara.
A mother's gift
Mohini Singh says as a mother, it was up to her to let her daughter to meet a person so important in her upbringing.
"I'm a big proponent of adoption. I believe if you settle a child you settle a family and you give someone a life.
"I've got pictures of them from the orphanage when they were little. It's sort of like going back to their roots."
She adds that the next adventure will be to bring Tara to Norway to meet Anna's family.
"It was really important to bring them together because there was a hole in my daughter's soul. I knew she missed Anna so I brought them together so they can move forward."
To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled: 10 years after being separated, orphaned best friends reunite in Canada.
