Two-year-old Esther was found one evening walking by herself by a concerned community member. She immediately took action by taking the child to the nearest police station in Wakiso district.
The Probation and Social Welfare Officer reached out to Child’s i Foundation to offer support to the child and help trace her family. Baby Esther was immediately placed in the emergency foster care of Ruth, a newly approved foster mother.
As a first-time foster parent, she was extremely excited to take Esther into her home as she herself was living with a granddaughter around the same age. “I had just concluded my training from Child’s i Foundation on being a foster parent so she came home at the right time,”
With open arms and a loving heart, Ruth took her in determined to create a safe and loving home whilst her family was being traced. Her motivation to become a foster parent was her love for children and her desire to see every child thriving within a family.
She has been immensely supported by our social worker; Mellan, since she embarked on this journey. This has been through the various monitoring visits and calls made to her. This is part of the additional support offered by Child’s i to foster parents on top of the training sessions in preparation for foster parenthood.
For five months, Ruth took care of baby Esther as her own. Given the fact that her own granddaughter was in school, she went ahead to enrol her too as she waited for her family to be found. Our dedicated social worker; Mellan in collaboration with the Probation Officer, went ahead to look for her family and finally her father was found.
When informed about his daughter being found, Esther’s father was taken over by relief as he had been worried about her since her disappearance. He was happy that his daughter was in safe hands and could not wait to have her get back home to him and her siblings.
“I last saw her in December when she came to visit me with her mother. I am happy to have my child home with me through the right legal procedures. I can not wait for Esther to meet her siblings when they come back from school. They will also be very happy!” a joyful father expressed.
On a rainy afternoon, Esther was finally taken back to her father’s home in Kayunga, Wakiso district. She was welcomed by family members who were ecstatic that their daughter was finally home.
“I extend my sincere gratitude to Child’s i Foundation for reuniting me with my daughter. Now that she is with me, I am optimistic that she is going to thrive!” the happy father shared.
At Child’s i Foundation, we believe that all children have a right to a loving family. Through the tireless efforts of our dedicated efforts social workers, many children like Esther have been reintegrated back into their families.
