Feeling inspired by another foster carer

You can read the transcript of the video below.

We came across a foster carer at an event in the local mosque and he talked about his role and his journey, and I left thinking I want to do that, I want to bring a child into our home and give them a safe and happy environment to flourish in, to grow in, and to give them a good start in life.

The thing for me and my family that we enjoy the most about fostering is knowing that we’re making a real difference to somebody’s life, and giving them the care and the support to hopefully give them the best chance in life. It brings a lot of joy knowing that you’re doing that, and you’re having a positive impact on somebody’s life.

My most rewarding memory of being a foster carer, with our current, first placement, so we’ve not done this before, is bringing the foster child home for the first time. And it was watching him and my own children, he was a new member of the family, so I was watching my own children take this child in making them feel welcome, and embracing him as a member of our family.

My children, the way they’re benefiting from being a foster carer is they’re having exposure to circumstances of somebody’s life that they haven’t been exposed to. They are so blessed, we are so blessed, and we’re so privileged, and it’s the realisation that not everybody has those blessings and those privileges in life, and making them more empathetic in life.

The children’s services have been wonderful from the start. They’re always at hand to offer support and advice. We have ongoing training that we can attend to develop in skills that we’ll need in our current placement, in future placements. They’re always available, they have a helpline which you can call at any time if you’re in need of help or support or assistance.

It’s wonderful to be able to give back to society, and I think it’s a hugely humbling and rewarding role, and I would highly recommend it to anybody who has the ability to take on this role. You can make a difference in somebody’s life. You can bring them into your home, and you can be that difference, and you can be that change in their life.

Shazia Ali is a foster carer with Slough Children First.

If Shazia has inspired you to find out more about fostering then please complete the online enquiry form and one of our advisors will be in touch to talk it through with you. There’s no commitment, but it could be the start of an exciting new journey.