Nurture Foster Care - A time of Training

Foster Care Training

On the weekend of December 11th and 12th, ICC’s foster care department held its first parents training. This training was attended by eight families, including three young people, university students who were actively supporting their parents in fostering a child. During the training the fostered children enjoyed activities organized by the foreign ICC team – including a special Christmas party, and a trip to the park. Both the families and the children had a fun and profitable weekend.

One of the foremost goals of the foster care training was to get the foster families together, to allow them time to meet other people taking on the same challenges as they, and to be encouraged by being in a community. The training was organized in such a way that much of the teaching was through games and group discussions. With high participation, the families learnt from each other as much as from the teachers. This style of teaching is not usual in China, but the families took to it straight away as they learnt through the various different mediums of seeing, listening and doing.

At one point in the training, the foster siblings were asked to share their experience of foster care. A young lady of 20 years of age stood up and told her story. As she talked, she cried. She told about how her foster sister had come to live with them 3 months ago. She developed a deep love and care for her straight away, but was stressed by the pressure they were receiving from family and community, because of the child’s disability. At that time she felt conflicted, she loved this child immensely, and didn’t want to see her go, but she wasn’t sure that she could take on the pressure that was facing her. Through the encouragement of her mother and a relative, this young lady has taken on the difficulties put before her, to challenge the views of society that would discriminate against such children. As this young lady talked about her experience, most of the people in the room were moved to tears. Everyone understood to some degree the pressure in this society of looking after a disabled child. To watch this young lady with her little sister is such a joy, they have a warm relationship, and the care between them is obvious.

Overall the foster care training was an incredible encouragement to the whole of the ICC team in Changsha. Those two days we saw that there are incredible people in the community who deeply cared for these children’s every need.