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Fostering a happy home

The Australian Women's Weekly

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August 2023

There are nightmare stories around welcoming a foster child into your home and it's deterred many potential carers. But, says one happy family, with the right support, a wonderful and enriching relationship can begin.

- GENEVIEVE GANNON

Fostering a happy home

Renata and her husband Sharif had never thought about, let alone planned, on becoming foster parents. But when Renata heard her young nephew, Jack*, had entered the foster system, the duo felt compelled to open their home and their hearts.

Renata’s brother had died of cancer when Jack was only a baby, and his grief-stricken mother had separated from the family. Renata learned Jack was in care in 2008, when he was three. While she and Sharif had two small daughters and were expecting a third, they knew they wanted to help.

“We were extremely emotional finding out that Jack was in the fostering system,” Renata says.

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