As a clinical psychologist working with vulnerable children, youths and adults, I knew a safe, stable and loving family could improve a child’s life trajectory.
In 2005, I felt God call me to set up a fostering support group to help grow a fostering culture in Singapore (which was non-existent then), and to also foster as a family. After struggling greatly, I finally surrendered and chose to obey the command to “care for orphans” (James 1:27).
Our family started respite fostering with a pregnancy support agency in 2008, later becoming approved foster parents under the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). In 2013, we received our first foster child, a beautiful 4-year-old Indian girl who stayed with us for 1.5 years.
Initially, the youngest of our 3 sons, then aged 11, had issues coping with a younger child whom he found annoying. However, over time, we have seen our sons mature and become caring older brothers to our foster kids.
In total, we have fostered 13 children (varying in ages from newborn to 20 years old) who have stayed with our family between 1 week and 3 years. One girl, who originally stayed with us for 2 years when she was 10 years old, returned to our care during her N-level year because she was not doing well. We are in contact with most of our former foster children and they often come over for meals, outings, and big Christmas gatherings.
In 2013, God prompted me to set up the fostering network he had placed on my heart 8 years prior.
With 3 other like-minded couples who were also fostering, we felt the heartbeat of God to take care of orphans and founded Home for Good, Singapore (HFG-SG) as a peer support group for foster parents that year.
As a peer network of foster parents, we wanted to promote fostering and adoption in the Christian community in Singapore. We strongly believed it is the church’s mandate to take care of the orphans and provide a home for them. We were inspired by the UK’s Home for Good, a charity helping to find adoptive and foster homes for children in the care system.
For HFG-SG, our mission was to make fostering and adoption a core ministry in our churches. The peer network would be a support and resource group for Christian foster parents, encouraging foster parents to intercede for the foster children who came under our care by praying for their needs, be champions of fostering in our own churches, and share about fostering with other churches in Singapore.
By spreading the awareness of why vulnerable children and youths would thrive better in family-based care instead of being placed in residential care (Children’s Homes), we aimed to raise a pool of 500 foster parents to meet this need. We also needed volunteers to offer support for children and youths who were in out-of-home care to reintegrate with their families.
Many supporters, volunteers and families joined the cause and 10 years later, HFG-SG became a charity with over 250 members and over 70 actively fostering families.
After 16 years of fostering and 11 years of running HFG-SG as a volunteer, my passion to see “a loving family for every child in need” continues to burn brightly, and I pray for the day God answers our prayers for enough foster families in Singapore!
