Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Ecaterina Zgureanu,
Foster Carer, Ungheni District

"Being a foster parent means loving these children more than you care for yourself".

Ecaterina Zgureanu, Foster Carer, Ungheni District.

A beautiful girl with curly hair and kind eyes opened us when we knocked at the door of Zgureanu Family.

Mrs. Ecaterina Zgureanu told us lately, that the young girl is placed in this family together with her younger brother, and they come from a big family that, unfortunately, cannot provide them everything they need. Here, in the foster carer’s family, the girl was able to distinguish between what their life had been before placement and the good conditions offering them adequate up-bringing and education they have now. Another pleasing thing is that the girl now does much better at school, things got sense and lots of dreams appeared. The most important dream is to become a doctor and to live together with all other brothers and sisters.

Once these children came into their family, life started to get sense for Mrs. Zgureanu, as their own children had already grown up and left the family. Mrs. Zgureanu wants to help the two children, offering them a better life and inspiring them more self-confidence. Although they live in Ungheni town, they found out about this service from their acquaintances who live in the village of Condratesti – a community in the district of Ungheni, with many fostering families. Mrs. Zgureanu lived alone in a big house, and she decided that she has enough room for two or three children she could care after and provide them better life chances. Since children came into her home, Mrs. Zgureanu loved them, and now she does not make any difference between her own children and those in placement. Now, says the foster carer, it is like there were two angels in her home, filling her life with happiness. In her turn, she tries to make them enjoy their everyday activities.

Although her family and friends were skeptical in the beginning, Mrs. Zgureanu never gave up her decision and always said that the way one raises children matters more than their past.

The foster carer makes sure the two siblings do not lose relation with their biological family. Their sisters often visit them, they have frequent phone discussions with their biological mother, and their aunts come to see them. She feels their pain and she would like to do more to help all their brothers and sisters, not only the two of them.

Mrs. Zgureanu says that not just any person could become a foster carer.

"Being a ‘professional parent’ means having a big heart and loving these children even more than you love yourself. One should love this profession and have a big heart" – says Mrs. Zgureanu.

Projects related to this material