A woman has made a heartfelt and desperate appeal to find her biological mother and brother after she was given up for adoption forty years ago.
Cassidy van der Westhuizen, born Jean Engelbrecht, was born at a Wynberg Hospital on August 2, 1982, and was given up for adoption by her mother shortly after. Cassidy believes her mother, whose first name is unknown, felt compelled to give her up because her biological parents had children out of wedlock – which was frowned upon. She said her biological father was Portuguese and her mother was raised in an Afrikaans Dutch Reformed (DR) church which caused more conflict because of their religion.
“He was Catholic and my mother was DR and their families didn’t agree and after she had me she gave my brother and I up for adoption. I’m not too sure what happened to my biological father and if he went back to Portugal. All I know is that he used to work at a fish and chips shop in Bothasig.”
Her brother, Michael Engelbrecht, was born two years before her in 1980. She has been actively looking for her biological family since 2000.
Cassidy’s adoptive grandmother, who was in charge of a halfway house and adoption agency called the ACVV, took her in when she was about two and a half years old but she was always open about the adoption.
“The Butlers (adoptive family) are a very loving family and I always felt accepted and loved by them. Of course, being adopted you want to know where you came from and who you look like.”
When Cassidy gave birth to her son fourteen years ago she was even more determined to get in contact with her biological mother.
“When I had my son it dawned on me that my biological mother went through the same emotions when she carried me. My empathy grew so much more for her.”
Asked what she would like to say to her mother Cassidy said she would like to thank her.
“I want to meet her to say thank you for giving me an opportunity to have a better life. As a mother I don’t know how she did that so I really want to thank her for making an impossible decision to give me a better life and I’d love to say that to her face to face.”
She added that her son had given her a sense of family: “That’s not taking away from my adoptive family but we would love to meet her and say these things to her.”
