Foster Mum Shagufta on fostering with faith and taking her foster children to Mecca
Shagufta, alongside her husband Sabtain, have been providing children in need of loving homes in Lancashire with care, protection and spiritual support since 2014. Here she shares her fostering experience with ACS and talks about how as a couple they created the chance to perform Umrah last Ramadan with her foster children in Mecca.
Finding faith in fostering
Life is always busy in Shagufta’s household, where she cares for her three foster children. Like many of our foster parents here at ACS, Shagufta’s family specialises in cultural matching. She was inspired to foster after learning about how many children are at risk of losing their connection to their culture when they move into a foster home.
Shagufta and Sabtain have been proud to welcome children into their home over the past ten years. Seeing the children thrive as they’ve been supported to discover more about their faith and their identity has been incredibly rewarding.
Helping the children to connect with their Islamic faith and create lasting memories was really special for Shagufta, she said: “When our foster children came to live with us, the youngest child didn’t even know that she was a Muslim, while her older brother was crying out to have his spiritual needs met.
“By living with a foster family who share their religion, the children have had lots of opportunities to learn more about their faith, and it’s become a strong part of their identity.”
A journey of discovery
The family’s journey together has even gone beyond their life at home; Shagufta has had the privilege of taking her foster children on pilgrimage to Mecca.
Having first performed Hajj with her husband 14 years ago, Shagufta wanted to share the experience with her foster children, she said: “When my husband and I first visited Mecca 14 years ago, I knew it was an experience we would treasure for the rest of our lives.
“I wanted that for our foster children as well, because they showed such a strong interest in their faith as practising Muslims. I wanted to give them the opportunity to build those precious memories now, it’s an expensive trip and they might not get the opportunity again.”
Shagufta said: “We got approval for the trip from social services and the children’s biological parents. We decided to take the trip during Ramadan last year, which is one of the busiest but most rewarding times to go. Not only did the children get to experience Umrah but we also visited the city of Medina which is our Prophet’s resting place and explored the mountains. They also had the opportunity to enjoy many blessed mosques and sacred places, the culture, food, and traditional dress – it was a really special time for all of us.
Incorporated in this trip, the children were able to meet their relatives in Pakistan, giving them the opportunity to really connect with their loved ones and their heritage. She said:
“We’d often talk about Pakistan at home, and it brought back memories for the children of when they visited when they were very little. My husband and I decided to make arrangements with their local authority to take them with us on our next visit. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to get to know their relatives and experience the food and the culture.”
Everything the children had been learning about their culture at home with Shagufta and Sabtain was a great asset during their visit to Pakistan. Shagufta said:
“One of the most amazing things was that the children could communicate in Urdu with their relatives. I mostly speak English at home, but my husband speaks with the children in Urdu and he had such a big role in helping them to practice and perfect the language. The children were able to build relationships with their aunties and uncles; it was so beautiful to see.”
Inspiring others
Helping others is a lifestyle for Shagufta. She and her husband have also provided a loving home for children from non-Muslim backgrounds. Shagufta has loved watching all the children she has cared for grow and achieve and was even the birthing partner for one of her foster daughters.
As well as her amazing work as a foster mum, Shagufta is also heavily involved in her community and in charity work. Most recently she has raised funds to support people living in Gaza in partnership with ACS and has visited Jordan to support refugees.
“We visited Syrian and Palestinian refugees in the desert camps and distributed aid, money and toys to the widows and the orphans. When I do events at home in the UK, my foster kids will help at every event that I do. When the children see that I’m making an effort to help out in the community, they see the value of helping others and it’s a good example.”
There’s an urgent need for more foster parents throughout the UK, especially those from minority backgrounds who can provide children with familiarity in a safe home which reflects their cultural and religious background.
Advice for future foster parents
When we asked Shagufta what she’d say to anyone thinking of fostering, she said:
“I definitely recommend fostering if you have a spare bedroom. You have to be ready to treat the children you care for as though they were your own, and you have to come into fostering with an understanding that these children have been through incredibly difficult experiences, and they’ll need extra help and support.”
“Don’t be afraid, because you can foster! All the support you need is out there. ACS is always there to support you and give you good advice. I have a fantastic network of support from family, friends and other foster parents. When you've got that strong support network, there's nothing to worry about because you'll always be looked after.”
Interested in joining Shagufta and the many inspiring foster parents just like her making a difference to children’s lives every day? Contact us today to learn more about starting your own fostering journey.
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'What we wanted at Active Care Solutions was to be something different: to have an agency where children from all cultures and communities can come together'
Since 2012 ACS has been putting children at the very heart of what we do. Our focus is on helping children and young people with specific religious or cultural needs find foster parents who support their values and identity and can provide a safe and loving home.
'When we give a child a home we give them the memories, we give them a scaffold, and we make them strong.'
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