Javid

Javid is a foster carer for the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham. In 2006 he quit his city job working in finance to become a foster carer.

“I love fostering,” says Javid. “The children may have suffered neglect or experienced domestic violence. They have had difficult starts to life. As foster carers our job is to show that life can be good.

“The role is quite challenging but equally rewarding. When we came to the Skills to Foster training at Barking & Dagenham, they were quite open about the hurdles we would face. It was very real, which is what we wanted to hear.

“We tend to look after teenagers, so there is a lot of mentoring. We talk about them about their school day and check their homework. But we also talk about the future, about the possibility of university or the jobs they would like to do.”

Javid and his wife currently foster two brothers, one of whom is currently at university. “The other day he told me he wished he had come to live with us earlier, because then he would have done better. He told me he was glad his younger brother was also with us, because he was learning about the opportunities that were open to him and how we would support him to do his best.”

“Little things like this make all the difference. When you apply to be a foster carer, you don’t always know what you are getting into. But five years down the line, when you reflect on how far a child has come, you know it was all worth it.”