Abdul and Moriom have been fostering for over 5 years, having realised the difference they could make to a child’s life. They have looked after 8 children in this time in emergency, short term and long term fostering placements.
We gave it a lot of thought and although my previous experience had been running our own successful restaurant for the last 22 years, we discussed it with our children, who were supportive of the idea and so we decided to take the first step in foster care journey. The time was right for us and our family!
So far, we have been fortunate enough to welcome 8 looked after children into our family home. We have taken in children on an emergency basis, for a short-term placement as well as for long-term. Although every experience has been different and the lengths of time they have stayed have varied, we can honestly say that fostering has been the most rewarding experience for our family. Even with its highs and lows, being able to see the smile you can bring to a child’s face, watching them play, experiencing their joy and their development at school, it really does make it worth every minute.
Since taking that step, we have never looked back. The past 5 years have shown us so much as a family. Not only have we learnt from this experience, but our own children who are now 10, 17 and 19, have also taken away so much from the experience and from the young people they have helped to support. Our children have really learnt to appreciate the things that they have in life and know not to take things for granted. They have seen what other children have gone without and understand how fortunate they are to be part of a loving family. We have also found that they have a better understanding of our role as parents and what we do for them.
Although there are some areas of fostering that were different to what we initially thought, we have taken everything in our stride. There are a number of meetings we have to attend, we have constant involvement with various professionals, we have to complete written logs and we have had to develop our IT skills but nothing has been a huge challenge because of our constant support from the agency, our social worker, the managers and the out of hours team. We have also received training on various topics both online and face to face, the quality of which has been informative and practical.
I can honestly say we have never regretted our decision to become foster carers and we are looking forward to the future and the many more lives we can change. It has been so wonderful to see the difference we have been able to make in such a short amount of time for the children that have lived with us. So, we are excited to see how much more we can do, with the continued support of the Capstone staff and the amazing community we have being part of the Capstone Family.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
