A conversation with SSI’s Turkish Carers Support Group

[Background music] Video title: A conversation with SSI’s Turkish Carers Support Group

Scene 1: My name is Yagoop. I am Uygur [and] I’m doing foster care for about six years. We looked after eight kids so far. My name is Mukaddes Kader. I am Uygur, it’s our sixth year, foster caring. We are doing this as a couple and we are enjoying it.

Scene 2: My name’s Nesrin. I’ve been a foster carer for over nine years. I had about 15 children under my care, thank you.

Scene 3: Hi, my name’s Ainu. I’ve been doing fostering about one and a half years, and [have had] 8 kids under my care until this time.

Scene 4: My names Nutan and I’m nine years foster carer. And I looked after 40 kids, and after I looked after long term, I have only one girl, thank you.

Scene 5: My name is Ayten Yildirim. I started foster caring in 2004. I served to 22 kids so far. I have two daughters and I am Turkish. My husband’s name is Necdet Yildrim and we are doing this together. I took care of nine kids for long term. Now I am foster caring a 12 year old girl.

Scene 6: Hi my name is Yusuf Kasli, I came from Turkey. I have been a foster carer for eight years. I took care of more than 35 kids in the meantime. Now I am taking care of four kids. Thank you.

Scene 7: My name is Sakine Yerlikaya. I have been working as a foster carer for the last two years. I took care of nearly 10 kids.

Scene 8: My name is Franca and I’ve been working with the SSI Multicultural Foster Care, OOHC and here we have Naomi. I’ve been working with Naomi doing contact work for the children.
Franca: Naomi, what’s prompted you to become a foster carer?
Naomi: I love children, all my jobs have got to do with caring whether its aged care or child care so I thought why not provide a safe secure home, and as a I said to you, the reason why I wanted to do fostering, was because I love children and to give them a stable home.

Scene 9: Eda: yeah, I’m watching everyday Home and Away, I didn’t understand but I feel what’s going on. Then after, I’m planning on learning English, then I want to do it, what they are doing.

Scene 10: So, my name is Alev Guvan. I’ve been working with Turkish foster carers since 2001. So, I was in this program for many years, then I joined SSI foster care program and out-of-home care program and we still have our Turkish group going on. We have monthly foster support groups and ongoing training, and I’m very happy that we have a very good attendance and we enjoy being together and we learn from each other and the carers are very helpful and they are into team work really very well. So we have currently 10 Turkish families active in our program, and I always consult Turkish carers and then we arrange the trainings accordingly. And they are committed carers, and confidently we place children with them. Thank you.

Scene 11: What do you think about foster care groups?
Nesrin: I just love it! We usually bake, cook get together.

Scene 12: Sakine Yerlikaya: I have nobody. I have friends but not always meet with them you know? And it’s just wall and me at home. Now that I look after kids, I am thinking what can I do next, I am reading for them, what can I do better things, you know, my brain is working always. I play with them some games, that’s why it good things.

Scene 13: Kathy Karatasas: Hello I am Kathy Karatasas, I manage the program and I work very closely with the wonderful team of staff and carers who together we try and provide a safe home for children who can’t live at home for short periods of time or long periods of time. Without the care and skills and interest and love of carers we would not be able to support the children that we do. We love and appreciate the multicultural commitment and interest that our carers bring and their ability to not only support children who share the same culture, but have an amazing capacity and curiosity to identify children for who they are and respond to their individual multicultural needs. And I thank the Turkish carer support group who has been operating for many years and is a testament to their love and interest and support for each other and support for the children.

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