Tears of joy ran down the faces of the Gelebe family members after they were reunited with one of their family members, whom they have not seen since she was born 40 years ago.

The emotional reunion took place in the Khavhadi household, at Khubvi village, north of Thohoyandou, on Saturday afternoon.

Chrestinah Gelebe was born in 1966 in Pretoria. For all these years, life was unpleasant, as she did not know her family members.

Family member John Gelebe (55) explained what happened: "My elder brother, Maungedzo Petrus Gelebe, who was born in the early 40s, went to work in Pretoria in 1962. He came back in 1963 and went back to work again. We haven’t heard anything from him since then. Even today no one knows where he is. We furthermore received information that he fell in love with a woman called Francinah in Pretoria and the woman fell pregnant in 1966. He vanished while the woman was pregnant and nobody knew where he went. Fortunately, Petrus left his photo with the woman whom he had made pregnant."

John added how they came to know Chrestinah: "It is good that, when the child was born, she used the surname of her father, even when she did not know him. On the 10th of January this year, someone told me there was a lady with the surname Gelebe in Johannesburg who was looking for her family, which is based in Venda. I then went to see her on the 12th; after some discussion, she showed me the picture of her father. The man in the picture was my brother and he looked just like Chrestinah. We then arranged to take her to Venda for a visit so that she could meet some of her family members."

With tears running down her face, the jubilant Chrestinah told Mirror: "It was very painful to spend 40 years without knowing my family. I am happy now that I have met them, but I still have a problem because I don’t know where my father is. I hope I will one day find him alive, because he has a special place in my heart," said Christinah, who is now married, with three kids aged between 15 and 6.

She now works for Makro company and stays in Nasrec, Gauteng. She says she would be the happiest person on earth if there are community members who can help her trace her father. "It is important for me to know my father and I believe that I will meet him one day. I humbly request anyone who might know where my father is to come forward because I need him."

Those who might be able to assist in tracing Chrestinah’s father can either call her at 084 826 6906 or call John Gelebe at 084 381 8611.