The birthmark that revealed a long-lost sister
- Oct 28
- 1 min read
Released On: 19 Jun 2025
Available for over a year
Adopted to the Netherlands from Bangladesh when she was just a year old, Kana Verheul always knew her background story - or she thought she did. Kana had been told she was an orphan - her adoption papers said that her father had died, her mother was ill and her grandmother had brought her to the baby home in Bangladesh. In 2017 Kana co-founded a non-profit organisation called The Shapla Community which helps reunite adoptees in the Netherlands with their birth families. That year, during one of her many trips to Bangladesh, Kana made a breakthrough in her own story when she found herself sitting opposite a woman called Taslima Akter, whose daughter had the exact same birthmark as Kana. Could this woman be Kana's sister? And was Kana about to learn the truth about her adoption? Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: June Christie Translator: Manoshi Barua Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Kana Verheul as a toddler in the Netherlands. Credit: Kana Verheul)
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