4th June 2025

Lynsay welcomed a young refugee from Eritrea into her family 2 years ago. As a young mum of three, she has been fostering for 7 years and comes from a fostering family where her parents also fostered.

“I’ve always wanted to foster, I just wanted to offer other children a safe and loving home.”

Heaven* travelled through several different countries to get to Dublin, where she travelled on the back of a lorry to Belfast and was found at the docks. She initially went to a children’s home but moved in with Lynsay and her family a few years ago when she was 16.

“It was a new experience for her and our family. In the early days finding ways to communicate was a priority as Heaven needed time to grasp an understanding of English.

Two years on she is a vibrant young lady, who appreciates being part of our family, equally she has given so much to us as well. We have learnt about her birth country, culture and food, which are very important to her.

Heaven has embraced life in NI and has a great work ethic. She wants to do well for herself and has thrown herself into what we offer here – her education is one example. She has got herself a job, made lots of friends and is volunteering in a community youth group –  I’m so proud of her.

Sometimes she doesn’t want to talk about her life before she arrived or her journey to get here, I make sure I’m approachable and available so she knows she can come to me any time to talk about it. She would often get emotional about her family as she misses them and her culture so I try and encourage her to make her own foods and let me try them – these are the simple ways I feel I can best support her.

I get lots of help and support from HSC NI Foster Care and the training around caring for young refugees has been really beneficial.”