It was a cozy joint-intro tea session yesterday morning with Boys’ Town Fostering Services. All who attended were encouraged! A beautiful and very natural and heartfelt sharing by foster parents Alan and Eliz, who have been on this fostering journey since 2016! Here’s a few parts of their sharing: “Eliz carrying foster child (FC) in her sling while singing in the choir! He was so calm that nobody knew he was at the choir” “FC was in the hospital for a few months since birth…he smiled for the first time when they brought him home” “FC is our teacher, he teaches us how to teach him” “Eliz always places herself in FC’s natural mother’s shoes, and that helped in their first meeting at the hospital, and just small little details e.g. getting Alan to bring FC to natural mum, that reduces any potential tension when a mother meets another mother.” “Allan shared a few times about their conviction of the importance of reintegration.” More details from the sharing will be released. Watch this spa...

  One Day At A Time – Eliz and Alan’s Journey of caring for a foster child with neurodiversity   How It Started Eliz and Alan’s fostering journey started when Alan asked Eliz if she was keen to attend a fostering introduction session and she agreed without hesitating. Before they took the leap of faith, they were considering how their lifestyle would be changed with a foster child in the house. They had a carefree lifestyle and were able to have vacations during off-peak season. They were also concerned about whether they could manage the caregiving of their aged parents if they were also caring for a foster child.  The couple did not have their own children, and Eliz felt that the marriage was incomplete without a child. Eliz waited for 16 years for God to answer her prayer and He called her to be a foster mother.  Doubts to Reassurance  After they were approved as foster parents, they received a call from MSF about caring for a premature baby, Eugene*. El...

This weekend was an exciting one as we ( Home For Good - SG , The Salvation Army Singapore ) had our very first Befrienders For Families (BFF) Introduction Session at The Salvation Army's Youth Development Centre ( Youth Development Centre ) BFF is a programme which we co-developed with the Children and Youth Group of @The Salvation Army to support foster (and children’s home) children and their families when they reunfiy. HFG foster parents have seen this need as their foster children go back home. The natural families are safe and many are doing what they can but still need support for the children to reach their potential. Our very experienced Befriender, Lee Hwa shared inspiring stories about her journey with vulnerable children and families. When she was young, her family didn’t have much but her mother always opened their home to help those in need. One of the children she befriended, Chris (not his real name), a 4 year old boy, was said to have challenging behaviours. Howeve...

HFG Chit Chat Corner – Educational Journey for Foster Children with Special Needs. In February, a few foster parents within the HFG community had an informal chat with veteran foster parent, Linda, who is currently fostering two youth with special needs. She has fostered and provided respite care to many foster children over the years. Here’s some highlights from our chat which we hope will encourage others who are on similar journeys. 1) Build Strong Bond First Linda and her husband, Robin, started their fostering journey since 2003. Upon the arrival of Adam* and John* into their home, they decided to focus on building strong bonds with the boys. Both came to their families when they were babies. She feels that it is important for foster parents to show affection and love to their foster children. 2) Trust in God After Adam was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay, the professionals recommended for him to be enrolled in a special education (SPED) school. When asked if she had an...

3 foster children from HFG families received awards from MSF last weekend. Michael and Irene just shared with us what Nicole* (not her real name) did after the ceremony! Our hearts are so warm...Nicole, we are cheering you on! SHARING BY MICHAEL “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV Today I (Michael) really saw what this verse truly meant. Nicole* received the MSF Academic Achievement Award. Along with it she was awarded a prize voucher. During our journey back from church, Nicole was quietly discussing something with her younger foster sister. Nicole than came excitedly to me saying; "Daddy, Daddy, you can use part of the money and go enjoy a meal with Mummy!" I looked at Nicole surprised: "Why?". Nicole replied with glee; "I want to treat you & Mummy to your your favourite chilli dish." (She knew I like spicy food.) I decided to pull her leg ,...

It’s MSF Award Ceremony for Foster Children and Youth 2022! We are so happy to see that 3 HFG foster children got the MSF academic excellence awards from Minister for Social and Family Development, Mr Masagos Zulkifli! Today, we want to celebrate these children and wanted to find out their dreams! We were onsite and managed to collect some short snippets. MICHAEL, IRENE and NICOLE* (14 year-old foster girl). Nicole, got an award for her Sec 2 results. Michael and Irene shared that they felt so happy for Nicole because they saw her putting in a lot of effort. With the transition from primary school to Secondary school, Nicole had to juggle between her CCA, her studies, moving between the homes of her natural family and foster family. She rose above it all to focus and do well in her studies. Nicole was happy that she got an award as she didn’t expect to get it. She shared that her dream was to be a teacher when she grows up, one who is patient and will put in a lot of effort to help the...

  Awesome Northeast HFG family day today! 8 foster families who live in the North-east region gathered for a time of fun, food and sharing. Games were organized for all to participate, parents definitely had as much fun as the children! The host also surprised each child with a bag filled with personalized gifts! From the host: It was good to hear the foster parents share what they are grateful for in their fostering journey and how our foster children blesses us so much! Majority of the children have special needs (various spectrum), yet we are impressed how they got along and played well. Really impressed that foster parents came despite possibly thinking it would be such a challenge in a big crowd. Yeah, just so happy basically. God blessed us so much through today’s event. From one of the families who attended: My husband was so impressed how the host’s foster children co-host the gathering…they were helpful and spontaneous!

  Just completed a support session for foster parents today! It was so good to see everyone. We wanted to keep the group small so it was easier to talk and share. One of the topics was on how to support foster children who struggled with motivation for academic areas and learning difficulties . Joyce shared how the love and acceptance of the children were so important and this made it easier for her to help her foster child to learn . Audrie & Chune Keat shared about how celebrating small successes and focusing on effort instead of results helped their foster children. Liz shared how she used colour to help her foster child to learn as he was motivated by colour.

29 Oct 2022 -  HFG partnered Epworth Foster Care for the ”Drop Box” movie event. The show was touching and a great reminder of how the life of every child is precious in God’s eyes. Epworth’s manager of fostering, Li Koon and HFG foster parent, Kuan Ying, welcomed everyone! HFG foster parents, Vivienne Ng and Audrie Siew/Chune Keat were on the panel together with Epworth’s Manager of fostering, Li Koon. Representing HFG, Vivienne shared how the Lord broke her heart with His love for vulnerable children that she saw through her work and led her to foster. She highlighted that research showed that a child can be on a positive path if there was just one stable and caring adult who believed in them! Audrie shared how her foster girl, Ellie (not her real name) came just 2 weeks before her final P2 exams, not knowing how to read even simple words like “CAT” or say A-Zs. It was heartbreaking when Ellie shared how she had never passed a single test or spelling before. Audrie could see how...

  Below is a summary of the sharing by Amy at the Fostering Tea Session with  Boys' Town Fostering Services  on 24 September 2022. Amy and Victor Amy was given an opportunity to host foster parents at one of the events organized by her workplace. It was truly a memorable and eye-opening experience for her to hear the heartwarming stories of the foster parents as they shared with Amy and one another their fostering journeys. One of the foster parents commented that “If there is a room in your heart to foster, you will create space in your house to foster.” “It was very touching to see a foster parent taking care of a foster child with severe disabilities, feeding and attending to the child.” Amy shared. This is not the first occasion that Amy was exposed to the world of fostering. At work, Amy had a prayer group with colleagues who are also foster parents. This was the push she needed to talk about fostering a child with her husband, Victor. Victor had initial apprehension...