Christine's story

Throughout Christine’s working life she has always enjoyed helping young people and her experience of caring for teenagers has been a positive and fulfilling one.   

Christine says: “Barnardo’s is a very established charity which I have known since childhood, and from the first moment I spoke to their team, I instantly felt at ease.

"I made my initial inquiry during lockdown and whilst I was preparing to start a new job. Because of this the decision to embark on my fostering journey felt like an even more daunting one, but Barnardo’s were so approachable and skilled at working at a pace that suited me that I felt reassured and in control throughout the process. 

“Barnardo’s also has an excellent reputation as a provider of fostering services and is regulated by Ofsted which I found really reassuring.

"I was given a dedicated social worker and matched with a foster carer ‘buddy’ who I was able to get advice from. Because Barnardo’s provides 24 hours out of hours support, and monthly meetings with other foster carers you never feel alone. The training programme is fantastic. 

"Through them I have been able to learn about new languages, cultures and how to communicate and connect with young people at different emotional levels. Several of the foster children I have supported have been asylum-seeking young people and I’m currently caring for a 17-year-old boy from Eritrea.  

“Whilst he has only been with me a short space of time, the difference I see each day is profound. When he first arrived in my home, he was understandably very timid and nervous. But recently I’ve been able to tell that he’s feeling happier and more at ease. I can tell by simple things like when I see him singing and dancing to himself when he’s listening to music in the kitchen. 

“There’s still a long way to go in terms of getting him into college and developing his language skills, but the fact that he feels safe and secure is the most important thing of all. Along with emotional support, Barnardo’s can help care-experienced young people in a very practical way such as offering advice about the best way to get them enrolled in college and how they can access English language courses.  

“My young person has also been able to start a friendship with my older foster son who is 21 and also Eritrean. When he first arrived, he too lacked confidence and was very timid.

"Through Barnardo’s I was able to help him develop the essential life skills which every young person needs but for care-experienced young people can be difficult for them to acquire if they don’t have family of their own to turn to for guidance and support.

"Along with helping him to do his own washing, cooking and ironing, I helped him to set up his own bank account and other welfare provisions. 

“He has applied to become an ambulance driver and is living in his own flat which he’s very proud of. A lot of the decorating he’s done himself. It’s a very beautiful place. I have been there myself and seen it! 

“The really lovely thing to see is how he’s been able to pass on the support and knowledge I have given to him as a foster carer to the current young person I’m looking after. Together they have been able to go to Eritrean restaurants in London and speak together in their own language and form a close bond.  

“As a mother of four sons, I know the teenage years can be a really challenging and daunting time for young people, irrespective of background or circumstance. However, being a foster carer with Barnardo’s means you can help care-experienced young people reach their potential and have a more positive future. 

“My older foster son remembers how he felt arriving in the UK and coming into my home for the first time. He was very nervous, and as I hadn’t supported any other Eritrean foster children, it was initially difficult for him to access that peer-to-peer support.

"I think that’s why he just wants to be there to help my current young person. He knows what it’s like to be in that position.  

“Both of them are very kind and generous young adults, and that’s the thing I have found supporting older children and teenagers; they are very thoughtful and very helpful.

"It’s just that sometimes young people lack self-esteem, but if you are able to support them with this and can show compassion, you will see care-experienced young people are wonderful human beings.”