Fostering Hampshire Children are working in partnership with My Foster Family to support the recruitment of foster carers from the Muslim community to care for children of Muslim heritage and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children in Hampshire.
In preparation for Ramadan 2023, the team at My Foster Family delivered training to Hampshire foster carers around Fasting, Ramadan and Eid. Sabah Gilani (CEO for My Family Group) was supported by Imam Sheikh Osman and foster carer Andrea Hunt. Foster carers heard about Ramadan and Eid-Ul-Fitr, and the importance of cultural activities and community gatherings during this time. The team from My Foster Family offered personal stories about their experiences of Ramadan, their family and household traditions, and Eid celebrations.
Andrea Hunt has been a foster carer with Warwickshire County Council for 25 years and supports My Foster Family in promoting the best care for Muslim foster children. Andrea began informally studying Islam to support the children in her care and converted to Islam 15 years ago. Andrea shared her extensive experiences of caring for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and the importance of faith, identity, and cultural considerations.
Andrea sought links in the community, through local mosques and community groups, to support the young people through Ramadan, facilitating prayer and offering meals at suitable times to accommodate fasting. Foster carers heard about the importance of understanding that there are different ways to break a fast according to the traditions of the young person’s home country or family and she would make time to speak with the young person, asking questions and understanding the traditions of their home country and family so she could reflect these in her home. She followed a timetable from a local mosque and sourced prayer mats and copies of the Qur’an in their own language and created a calm and quiet space in her home for prayer. She developed support networks for the young people in the community and took them shopping to buy new clothes so they could celebrate Eid at a local community event. She understood that the young people were missing their home, their family, and all they knew, and she did her best to support them during this time.
My Foster Family kindly shared information and resources with Fostering Hampshire Children to support Hampshire foster carers on their fostering journey caring for children of Muslim heritage and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children. These resources provide foster carers with additional information relating to local mosques and prayer timetables, community event and celebrations and details of local outlets where foster carers can buy faith-based products such as prayer mats and copies of the Qur’an.
Fostering Hampshire Children are proud to be working in partnership with My Foster Family in support of the #openyourdoor campaign to find 150 new foster carer households by the end of 2023. We will continue to engage with individuals and families from different faiths and ethnicities to support the recruitment and retention of Hampshire’s incredible foster carers who help enhance the experience and enrichment of a child in care.