Emdad Rahman
Locals were invited to Al Madina Mosque, Barking to take part in a seminar and an opportunity to find out more about Fostering.
The short presentation included discussing the Islamic perspective on Fostering and Adoption, and the increasing need for more people to register as Foster Carers.
The seminar was delivered by Kaushar Tai of Aksaa Management and Training Consultants alongside Banya Fostering Services.
Tai stated that there are approximately 10,000 children in Foster Care and explained how Carers accommodated children in their care. For example a child who is Muslim is provided support to attend the Mosque, take part in religious education and receive Halal meals. However there is a great need overall to link children with families who match their cultural and religious needs.
Tai cited one local authority where there were 44 Muslim children in care but only 4 registered Foster Carers.
He said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with non Muslim fostering but there is a growing number of refugee children entering the UK from war torn countries – Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.
“It’s time to roll up the sleeves and bring them into our homes.”
Flo Chiwetu from the Banya Fostering Agency added, “Fostering is challenging and to become a Carer takes 4-6 months. We try our best to match up well as we don’t want foster families to break up. To achieve this we work closely to meet the Foster Carers and the children’s needs.
“Our oldest foster career is 81. As long as anyone is healthy and fit we don’t have any age limitations.”
Foster Carer Satwinder concluded, “The reason why I wanted to become a foster Carer was because of my husband – He came to England at a young age and was fostered. It had a big impact on him. We wanted to give something back and help nurture the life of a child – to help them fit into society and our family unit as well.”
Registered Foster Carers receive up to £400 per week per child.
For further information, please contact:
Kaushar Tai at (Aksaa) on 0781 3811914 or email kaushartai@hotmail.com