Just when we thought our commutes on the T were pretty horrendous.

Last week, Google’s blog released an article featuring Saroo Brierley, who fell asleep on a train 26 years ago, and recently found his way home to his mother, sister, and brother last year using Google Earth. His story testifies to the usefulness of technology, but is also the epitome of technology’s unifying capabilities.

At just five years old, Brierley and his 14-year-old brother, Guddu, were scouring a local train station for coins to financially support their family in Berhanpur, India. While Guddu proceeded to look around for spare change, Brierley boarded a stationary train and eventually fell asleep. He woke up 1,500 kilometers later in Calcutta.

For some time, Brierley survived on the streets in Calcutta, and he was eventually taken into an orphanage. At the age of six, he was adopted by an Australian family, the Brierley’s, who raised him in Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania. Brierley’s adoptive mother hung a map of India next to his bed, and as he woke up next to this map every day, Brierley began to harvest a motivation to eventually find his way home to Berhanpur, India.

In 2011, Brierley began his quest to find his family. Using the ruler feature on Google Earth, Brierley calculated roughly how far he had traveled by train that pivotal day. He searched through Google Earth images (above) of this estimated area, and eventually spotted a landmark he faintly remembered, along with a neighborhood, a street, and a tin roof. In 2012, Brierley left Australia and traveled to Khandwa, India, and relying on the help of locals as well as childhood memories, Brierley tracked down his mother’s house. He was reunited with her and both of his siblings.

For a comprehensive account of Brierley’s journey, check out his book, A Long Way Home. You can also watch this short interview with Brierley below:

Image from Google’s Official Blog.