Meet the Westminster foster carer who is committed to changing young people’s lives

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Westminster foster carer Fahad has spent four years creating a safe space for their foster child to grow up in. 

Fahad lives in Westminster and became a foster carer three weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020. He and their wife were drawn to fostering as they had both worked in grass roots organisations and had experiences with young people and their families in the system. Wanting to make an impactful change they decided to take leap into fostering.  

“As a Muslim I feel it is important to make sure that you can empower the community and give a child, who through no fault of their own have ended up being in a position where they’ve been separated from or lost their family – so we wanted to step up and help.” 

Fahad recalls that the first step was attending an information event hosted through the tri-borough foster carers service which gave him opportunity to learn about statutory obligations, responsibilities and how to start the application process. He reflects that children can come with different and complex needs so through the rigorous application process individuals are assessed on whether they are equipped to deal with the needs of the children.  

“You need to be somebody who is very forthcoming and reflect on how you have become the person you are. It's about knowing what barriers and biases you have. How you'll be dealing with different things that come through.” 

Fahad feels fortunate to have had their first placement turn into a long-term one. He emphasises that during this time he and his wife have felt supported to work towards the shared goal of ensuring a safe and happy home for the child: “There are no silly questions. There are people out there who've been doing it for 15 years or 20 years, and there's also great practitioners around that give you that support network.” 

While fostering presents a unique set of challenges, Fahad highlights that these are vastly outweighed by the rewards that welcoming a young person into your life can bring. He reflects; We are very happy. I think it's the best decision we've made for our family. I don't think we can see our lives without her. She's brought a lot of joy and a lot of stability into our lives.”  

He adds: “You might be daunted by the process. You might not have an understanding. But just like everything in life it's about having the right attitude. Even during the most challenging times, when you sit down and reflect on it, you can laugh and say; we went through that, and we came out on the other side. It's about opening your heart and knowing that it is all within us to do that.” 

Interested in fostering? Find out more: Fostering Shared Services | Fostering Shared Services