41 yrs after, ‘Belgian’ Kathy to be in Kerala in search of parents

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: She was just a year old when a Belgian couple, Maurice and Liliane Pollet, adopted her from The Holy Angels Convent’s orphanage in the state capital. Forty-one years later, Catherine Pollett has set out in search of her biological mother Sarala and unknown father, who she believes are from Thiruvananthapuram. Sister Mary of the convent, who acted as a link during the adoption process, could have been Catherine’s go-to person to trace them, but she is no more.

Kathy, as she is called, has the letters Sr Mary and the Belgian couple had exchanged in the 1980s and a few photos of the ayah, who had looked after her when she was a baby. Catherine is keen to meet the ayah too. She told TNIE from Belgium that her adoptive mother never spoke about Kerala, its culture or her biological parents.

“I was told that my mother had left me in a basket in front of an orphanage. The reason I’m searching for my biological parents is because I have certain health issues. If for any reason my biological family doesn’t wish to see me, I would at least love to see the pictures of my dad and mom,” said Catherine, who had stayed with her Belgian parents until she turned 23.

Sr Angel, the incumbent mother superior at The Holy Angels Convent, told TNIE that nearly 25 infants from the orphanage were adopted by various Belgian couples in the early 80s. “Catherine might have been one of them,” she said.

“I was a young nun back then and was studying at All Saints College. The orphanage was as old as the Holy Angels Convent, the 150th anniversary of which was celebrated in 2019. But the orphanage is no longer functioning. I got in touch with a few senior nuns who were close to the late Sr Mary, but they too are clueless about Catherine’s parents. We don’t know anything about the adoption register either,” said Sr Angel.

One of the documents Catherine has shows she was administered a vaccine from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on April 3, 1981. The name written on the OP ticket is Regi while the place is Maruthankuzhy. It should give Catherine some lead. She has never been to India, but plans to visit Thiruvananthapuram soon.