The natural mother of Angelina Jolie’s adopted Ethiopian daughter Zahara has made a heartfelt plea to the superstar actress telling her: ‘Please just let me talk to my daughter’.

Poverty stricken Mentewab Dawit Lebiso told Daily Mail Online she is desperate to be part of her 12-year-old daughter’s life – and called for Jolie to get custody of her daughter in the bitter split with Brad Pitt.

She dreams of one day meeting the girl she gave up as a tiny infant – but said she would settle for the chance to simply hear her voice.

‘I just want her to know that I am alive and here and long to be able to speak with her.

I do not want my daughter back but just to be in contact with her and be able to call her up and talk with her,’ said Mentewab, who ekes out a living in Ethiopia.

Mentewab is the first to admit that the Jolie-Pitts have given her daughter everything she could wish for, adding: ‘Angelina has been more of a mother to her than I have ever been. She has been with her since she was a baby, but that does not mean I do not miss her.

But she adds: ‘I miss her all the time. I think about her every day and long to hear her voice or see her face.

I know when she has a birthday but I am sad because I can’t celebrate it with her. I would so much want to celebrate with her on her birthday and other special days.

Angelina has been more of a mother to her than I have ever been. She has been with her since she was a baby, but that does not mean I do not miss her

Mentewab Dawit Lebiso

‘I long to be able to have regular contact with her.’

Daily Mail Online tracked down Mentewab to a town in central Ethiopia far from the capital Addis Ababa and tourist attractions of the African country.

During an exclusive interview Mentewab looked close to tears as she mentioned her daughter’s name and talks of her hopes of one day being reunited with her.

Even now, 12 years after giving up her only child for adoption the pain as she talks about Zahara is clear in her face.