Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Elena Diaconu, Foster Carer, village of Hircesti, Ungheni District

"I promised myself to help children who have no family feel that they have a mother and a father."

Elena Diaconu, Foster Carer, village of Hircesti, Ungheni District.

Mrs. Elena Diaconu decided to become foster parent long before 2013, when she submitted her application to the SAFPD and was accepted into the service. In fact, her decision is based on more profound reasons, influenced by her past. Mrs. Elena was raised in Ungheni residential school. “Every Friday and on holidays, children who had parents used to go home. Only children who did not have families would stay in the residential school – they didn’t have a home to go…”, tells Mrs. Diaconu. This was the case of a girl younger that Mrs. Elena, who did not have anybody at all and who would always stay in the residential school. The feeling of pity and incapability to help her determined Mrs. Elena to promise herself that when she grew up, when she had possibility in the future, she would do something for these children, to help them feel that hey have a mother and a father. Years after, Mrs. Diaconu has kept her promise.

Their family had only boys – their own and fostered ones. Elena recognizes that she would also like to raise a girl, but she was ok with boys as well. She says she got used to boys and that she gets along well with all of them. She found about Foster Care from the community social assistant. After a discussion with the family the first two boys were placed with them.

"When they came to our family they didn’t have very good behavior, but we managed to offer them a better model, through our own example and concrete actions. The changes came very soon, even the schoolteachers appreciated the children”, says Mrs. Elena.

All members of Diaconu family have their own responsibilities. What the children love most of all is going to the community library, where they have opportunity to read and spend their free time.

Mrs. Elena teaches the children to be good, correct, and sincere, first of all, with themselves. This is why she asked them not to call her mother – not that she wouldn’t like to be called like that, but to save them from unnecessary suffering when one day these children will find a family that will want them definitively.

Nevertheless, when she talks about them she can hardly help not adding the pronoun "my". Mrs. Diacon says "… in order to get to a child’s heart one needs to treat the child like his or her own".

It seems that this spirit of belonging already started to grow roots… directly. One of the boys placed into their family planted once a nut-tree at the entrance to their yard, and he takes very much care of this tree. Apart from the affective meaning that will always remain a witness and a symbol for children and for Diaconu family, the boys already started to think about eventual business that may bring in the future more sources of income for the family.

Mrs. Elena’s example was followed by other relatives who also decided to become foster parents and took a child in placement.

The foster carer maintains relations with the children’s relatives, making sure that their relation does not disappear.

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