‘It is important to know there is help and support there’
STUDENT TELLS HOW FOSTER CARE HAS BEEN SO GOOD FOR HER
“FOR the first time I had people around me who believed in me.”
University student Sanna Mahmood was taken from a turbulent home life into Kirklees Council foster care at 14 years old.
Despite being left with feelings of anger and resentment, the support she got from her foster family helped her choose a path in life she may not have otherwise found.
Now 24, she wants to share her story to encourage others to foster children like her who need and deserve a chance to thrive.
Sanna said: “On some level, being in care was a bit like being on holiday.
“Having come from a very conservative background, my home life provided little opportunity for me to broaden my horizons or achieve academically.
“Fostering opened up a whole other world to me; a world where I was encouraged by my foster carers to experience different people and places and to do well for myself.
“I actually learned the best life lessons and for the first time I had people around me who believed in me, which boosted my confidence.
“Without that help and encouragement, I doubt I would ever have made the decision to continue with my education.”
Sanna completed a Kirklees apprenticeship in children and young people, and began a degree in health and community development. She is now in her final year at the University of Huddersfield and wants to pursue a career in human resources.
Alongside her studies, she works with Kirklees Council to support foster children and care leavers in the hope they too will follow their dreams and aspirations.
She said: “Having received so much support, both during and after my time in care, I felt passionately about giving something back.
“For the past six years I’ve been volunteering with Kirklees Council’s Children in Care team, a forum that gives fostered children a voice by allowing them to share their experiences, discuss any issues and ask for additional support.
“I also work at the council’s drop-in centre; a safe, friendly space where people can meet other care leavers, prepare a hot meal, take a shower and access IT facilities and council services. There, I help to run courses geared towards independent living.
“I feel it’s important those leaving care know there is help and support out there. Empowering young people to take control of their lives makes a huge difference as it can give them confidence when applying for a job or accessing further education.”
Now Sanna is urging people throughout Kirklees to consider taking up fostering to help meet the chronic shortage in the district.
She said: “They say it takes a village to raise a child and no other profession has the power to influence and change a vulnerable child’s life for the better like fostering does.
“You become a huge part of each other’s lives, so the positive changes that can be achieved are massive. Every child deserves the best start to life but some are at risk of missing out because there simply aren’t enough foster carers, particularly for teenagers, many of whom are just crying out for a positive role model.
“Without caring, understanding people who were willing to take me in, where would I be? I feel lucky I had amazing foster carers who encouraged me go out into the world and find myself, but leaving care was the strangest feeling because I had no birth family to turn to.
“However, it was around this time I realised I’d become part of another family; one made up of my foster carers, their friends who fostered, as well as the children in their care. They are still a big part of my life, so it gives me great comfort to know this is a fam-
Having received so much support ... I felt
passionately about giving something back
ily I can always rely on and call my own.”
Andy Quinlan, acting fostering service manager at Kirklees Council, said: “People like Sanna are a shining example of what can be achieved when a child is placed in a nurturing environment where they feel safe.
“We want to make sure every child in our care feels just as supported every step of the way and our team of more than 200 foster families is vital in ensuring this can happen.”
Kirklees is looking for long-term foster families for 30 children. A drop-in event is taking place at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield on Tuesday February 12 between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, where experienced foster carers will be available for advice.
The fostering team can be contacted on 0800 389 0086 or www.kirklees.gov.uk/fostering.