Give fostering a go

Fostering is a very special thing indeed - you get the chance to make a real difference in a child’s life.

Claire Robinson Aherne and Joe Aherne have been fostering for years and they told us about their experiences.

For Claire, fostering was a very natural thing.

She explains: “I grew up in a family that fostered, my nanna Nancy fostered well before I was born. I always had fostering in my life. My nanna was the kindest, most gentle lady you could ever meet. Fostering was normal to me.”

There are times when you realise what an impact you can have on a young life. For Claire, one of those moments came she and her husband had a placement of a 16 year old boy who was a serial absconder. He had ran from 7 foster homes before coming to their house.

“Because I have grown up kids, I knew how to approach him. It turned out to be a fantastic placement. He never ran, he ended up working part time for my brother and developing a love of cars. He went back to school and did his Leaving Cert and went on to get an apprenticeship. It showed me the need to meet those kids at their level and help them find themselves,” she added.

Fostering can be taxing but Claire thinks it brought magic back to her family: “My kids are grown up and have flown the nest. We now have Santa back, the easter bunny and the tooth fairy! We have the magic of small kids in our home. Watching the excitement of Santa coming was a thing of the past in our home, the magic of Christmas was a memory and now it is all very real.

“Our foster kids have brought so much to our family - love is the biggest thing. They may not be my kids, but we love them like our own. We probably fight harder for these kids because they deserve the world. I see my role as the person who will advocate and fight to get these kids what they need and deserve. I am their voice,” she added.

She explained how fostering changed her outlook on life. “We see a lot as foster carers, but I look at these kids and realise these kids have not had a great start in life, but when shown love and guidance there is no limit to their potential. It makes you look at things in life a lot differently.”

Claire advised people to just give it a try. “Just do it! It’s not for everybody. But if you try, might be for you.

“It is probably the most rewarding career I have ever had. Their littlest achievement are our biggest rewards. It’s hard, it’s tiring, it can be a lot some days, but we love it. We couldn’t see ourselves doing anything else.

“We have round the clock support from Five Rivers Fostering and I would highly recommend them, we have had a very positive experience. Any issue that arises, our link worker helps us navigate it and is there to support and help us.”

For more visit fiveriversfostering.ie or email foster@fiveriversireland.ie.