"If I don’t do it, where are these kids going to go?"

Briege O’Kane and her husband Kieran, from Park village in County Derry, have been welcoming kids in need into their home since 2015.

“I started fostering when my youngest was five at the time and he had started school. I just felt a wee bit lost about what I was going to do and I did not really want to do childminding,” explained Briege.

“I grew up beside my auntie and she was a foster parent so, in 2015, we decided to become a foster family. 

“When we passed [the tests], they rang and said ‘We have a child here, can you take him?’ 

“I never say no.”

Over the last nine years, Briege and her husband have welcomed and helped six kids in need. 

She is still in contact with some of the kids she has looked after. Some of them went back with their family, their grandparents or parents, while others went on to be adopted.

“We have them as newborns until maybe a year and a half before they go to their forever home,” Briege continued. 

The couple live on a sheep farm near Park with their five kids of their own.

Briege said that the kids they welcome always love this season as it is ‘the season of the lambs’. 

While fostering is a very rewarding experience, Briege admits that it can get very emotional when kids leave them.

Every few years Briege and her husband need to say goodbye to a child they have looked after for a couple of years. While she is happy for these kids to find their forever homes and a happy future she says it is a very emotional day for her own family.

“It’s really hard whenever they go. It's very hard. A lot of people would say ‘Oh, I don't know how you do that’,” said Briege.

“I always answer ‘Well if you don't do it, where are these kids going to go?’

“You’re part of their life,” she continued, while referring to their current foster child, who is hoping to find his forever home soon.

For new foster families, Briege said that ‘the most difficult thing they need to know is that yes, they are having that child for a certain length of time and possibly that child could be moving on but it is worth it’.

Briege said that foster families have the opportunity to show the child a ‘normal life, just a normal family life’ for some time before going to his forever home. 

When the family or an adoptive family is ready to take the child, there is a transition period of about a week and a half when the new family will come and go every day to get to know the child better. 

When Briege and her husband welcome a foster child, they are informed of the basic background of the child without details and the needs they may require. 

“They need ordinary families, nice homes to come to and we love all of the wains that have come to our house,” she said.

Briege explains that helping children in need as a fostering family is really rewarding. 

“[Being a foster family] is really rewarding, and yes it is sad but if they do not find foster placement for these kids they're going to end up in children’s homes,” she said. 

Before becoming a foster family, Briege explained that they had to go through ‘quite an intense assessment’ to see if the couple was deemed fit to take care of a foster child. 

“They come to see your house and you have to go through medical.

“It’s a big commitment, our youngest child was only five when I started. He probably had to compromise on certain things.

“But they were so welcoming to all of the wains.” 

Bridge said that this experience for her own kids was beneficial as they saw that not every child has a house or a family life. 

HSC NI Foster Care is actively looking for people within the Western Trust area to become foster families. 

This part of Northern Ireland has the highest number of children living in care with a total number of 712, a number which is constantly growing.

The Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team of HSC NI will be holding several information events across the Western Trust area, and the team will be available to answer any questions people may have.

“Being a foster carer can be a really rewarding and enriching experience,” said Catherine McKevitt, Head of Fostering and Adoption Services in the Western area.

 “People often think they can’t foster because they are single, work, or are too old, but none of these things matter.

“If you are considering fostering, come along and hear foster carers share their inspiring stories, chat to our experienced and friendly staff about the process and support on offer and discover if you could become part of our diverse community of foster carers.”

The Derry Fostering Information event will be held on Thursday, April 25 from 7.30pm to 9pm at Destined NW Disability Learning Centre, 1 Foyle Road, BT48 6SQ and Thursday, May 2 from 7.30pm to 9pm at Bethany Hall, Limavady.  No registration required. Everyone is welcome.

Call HSC NI Foster Care on 0800 0720 137 or visit adoptionandfostercare.hscni.net to find out more.