Based off research from the organization, in some areas of the country up to 90% of Muslim children who are adopted are placed away from their faith group, a shockingly high number.
Based off research from the organization, in some areas of the country up to 90% of Muslim children who are adopted are placed away from their faith group, a shockingly high number.
In an effort to increase the number of foster families and adoption rates within BME and Muslim communities across the UK, a new initiative led by My Foster Family will help support and raise awareness about National Adoption Week. Running sermons in mosques across the country, My Foster Family hopes that more Muslim families will think twice about becoming a foster parent or adopting a child.
Statistics from the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board (ASGB) show that in the UK, 28% of children waiting to be adopted are over 5 years old, with 20% being from Black, Asian, or an ethnic minority background. Tanvir Khan, a Muslim adoptive parent from West Yorkshire, explains why they decided to adopt:
Sometimes people in the community have apprehensions about adopting a child or do not know enough about it, but from my experiences of having been through it twice, children are children at the end of the day and the bond you establish with them is truly rewarding…what truly matters is the time you spend with the child and creating the bond and love. There is nothing more powerful than that.”
My Foster Family have started a Foster Friday initiative, which aims to raise awareness about the entire adoption process, and have even begun collaborating with other adopting and foster agencies and organizations across the country to help get more people involved. With involvements from mosques themselves, My Foster Family hopes that Muslim families will begin to see the importance of supporting initiatives like this.
Based off research from the organization, in some areas of the country up to 90% of Muslim children who are adopted are placed away from their faith group, a shockingly high number. With initiatives like this, and the collaboration of numerous different Muslim-based groups, My Foster Family hopes that ordinary Muslim families across the UK will see the importance in seriously considering adoption.
The General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan, stated in regards to National Adoption Week and My Foster Family’s efforts in raising awareness:
As the MCB we feel it is really important that we support national adoption week and the Foster Friday campaign to create greater awareness about fostering and adoption. It is important that mosques engage in the campaign so that the message can be spread far and wide across our communities. We are pleased to be able to support My Foster Family in drawing attention to the challenges of having a shortage of adoptive parents from BME communities.”
My Foster Family was selected by the DOE to support the work of national adoption agencies, and Education Minister Gavin Williamson has now pledged £650,000 into Regional Adoption Agencies, stating that he “will coordinate work to find more adopters across the country, especially for harder to place children. This will include targeted digital work and work with black churches and mosques to increase the numbers of people from BAME communities coming forward to adopt”. This highly encouraging move by the Education Minister will hopefully be only the beginning in a greater conversation across the country about the importance of adoption and foster family organizations.
To learn more about My Foster Family and how to get involved, click here!
