Divorced in India, reunited in Zedelgem

They were best friends in an orphanage in India. Until they were both adopted and separated from each other. By an unlikely coincidence, Teena (6) and Wine (5) are now reunited in Zedelgem, West Flanders. They live one kilometer apart and go to the same school. "Teena and Wine are like sisters to each other."

The touching reunion happened about three years ago. The two girls saw each other on the playground of their school in Zedelgem. Immediately the recognition was there, and they fell into each other's arms. According to their adoptive parents, there was "a spark of recognition" between Teena Kyndt and Wine Dierick: the feeling that they had known each other from birth. meetingThe coincidence became even greater when their adoptive parents turned out to be friends. They live a kilometer apart in Zedelgem and got to know each other during the long adoption procedure - both couples wanted a child from India through De Vreugdezaaders. Teena (now 6) came to Belgium in September 2007 and went to live with one couple, Wine (5) followed in March 2008 and got a home with the other couple. No one in Belgium had any idea of ??the special bond between the two girls who were best friends at the orphanage in Calcutta. Until that meeting on their school playground. Hilde, Wine's mother: 'Teena is six months older than Wine, and she remembered very well the name of her best friend.' language problem'The children didn't have to get used to each other at all. They just picked up the thread they had lost a year before," says Bart, Teena's dad. The two girls did have a practical problem. Bart: 'Teena already spoke Dutch and Wine only Bengali. But they understood each other without words. You really saw that there was already a strong bond between those two.' Since the unlikely reunion, the two have been like sisters to each other, Teena's mom Conny says. 'Exactly magnets. Other children can play on the playground, but they belong together. They are always very sweet and caring for each other.' princessesWhy Teena is so important to Wine? "Because she's from my country," says the youngest. "Wine comes to sleep with us every now and then," Teena adds. 'We are friends, forever and ever. We also dance together.' That's right: every week the girls in Zedelgem take dance lessons together. Promptly they show their skills to a tune from K3. According to their parents, the children have a lot in common. For starters, they have energy for four - duracellekes , Papa Bart calls them laughing. "They both love dancing, gymnastics and ballet," he says. "It's two nimble ladies."During the conversation, the girls switch princess costumes a few times. 'That fondling with princesses is of course typical at that age', says Bart, 'but it is still striking how proud they behave. Indian women dress very striking and colorful, wear beautiful bracelets and jewelry. Wine and Teena like nothing better than to walk around dressed up. They weren't even four when they wanted earrings.' Sister NyssaCan Teena and Wine remember anything about the orphanage where their close bond grew? “That Sister Nyssa didn't let us cry,” Teena says. But according to her mother, she heard that. 'After six months, young adopted children have forgotten everything about their former environment. The new experiences here are also so overwhelming. What Teena does know, she has from photographs.' It is certain that the Indian girls will forever remain two hands on one stomach. 'Next year they can choose who they are in the class with, and then they will undoubtedly choose each other', says mom Conny.

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