Saroo Brierley

Saroo Brierley has a remarkable story of loss, determination, resilience and discovery that will test the emotions of every audience, male and female, young and old.

Saroo was born in Khandwa, an Indian town not far from Calcutta. When he was five, he found himself at a train station waiting for his brother who never returned. Unable to find his way back home, Saroo spent three weeks on the streets of Calcutta he lost all contact with his family.

After living on the streets of Calcutta for three weeks alone, Saroo was placed into a local orphanage until an Australian family adopted him. He was moved to Hobart, Tasmania, where enjoyed a traditional Australian lifestyle for the next 25 years. But Saroo never gave up on finding his biological family.

After years trying to track down his old town through the labyrinth of railways lines on Google Earth and an image etched into his brain as a 5 year old, he finally found his town Khandwa on the map and travelled to India to try and find members of his family. In early 2012, after 25 years of separation, he finally reunited with his mother.

Celebrating the importance of hope, Saroo’s moving story has been told in autobiographical book A Long Way Home and the film, Lion starring Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel.

Saroo’s is a remarkable story of survival and sheer determination culminating in an intensely moving reunion with his mother.