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Carlos* was watching the information one night when a picture of a Syrian refugee boy who had drowned at sea crammed the display screen. As an immigrant himself, he instantly knew he needed to do one thing to assist the thousands and thousands of individuals fleeing struggle and violence.
Carlos migrated from Cuba to the US along with his household when he was not a lot older than the boy within the photograph and has all the time been fiercely happy with his immigrant identification. His want to assist others was inherited; after he left residence, his mom started fostering immigrant kids who had traveled to the U.S. and not using a guardian.
He determined in that second to comply with in her footsteps. Months later, he acquired his first foster care placement: a Guatemalan boy fleeing violence in his residence nation. Carlos didn’t know then, however the boy would keep for 2 years—and in that point, Carlos would welcome 9 different foster kids into his residence.
Whereas he was not from Central America himself, Carlos had traveled all through the area in his early maturity. His experiences there and his fluency in Spanish helped him hook up with the youngsters and youths he fostered, and when he didn’t know one thing, they have been all the time blissful to point out him YouTube movies concerning the historical past and tradition of their residence international locations.
Although he had by no means had kids, Carlos handled his foster kids as his personal—encouraging them to do properly at school and serving to them research for exams. He took them to physician’s appointments and to church on Sundays, celebrated birthdays and holidays with them, taught them methods to cook dinner, went for lengthy bike rides across the lake, and even took a number of of the youngsters on a highway journey to go to his household in Miami.
Carlos considers fostering to be a very powerful and impactful choice he’s ever made. He and his husband just lately purchased a house in Massachusetts, they usually hope to undertake quickly. Due to the assistance of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service community, significantly Ascentria Care Alliance, he is aware of what it’s wish to be a dad—and may’t wait to welcome a baby into his residence once more.
*Identify has been modified.
Study extra about LIRS’s foster care program for immigrant and refugee youth: lirs.org/foster-care-services/
The publish Studying The best way to Be a Dad: Carlos’s Story appeared first on LIRS.
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