Sponsor a CHILD’s life story Journey

How Can You Help?

In collaboration with local authorities, independent fostering agencies, businesses, and schools, we aim to provide every child in care with a free copy of the 'This Is My Life' life story workbook.

Life Story Workbooks empower children to rediscover their identities and build a strong foundation for their futures.

Your sponsorship can make a significant difference. By purchasing a workbook for a sponsored child, you provide essential support that helps them heal, thrive, and rewrite their futures. Together, we can change the story for children in care, one workbook at a time.

The Problem

  • Children who are, or have been, in care are one of the lowest performing groups in terms of educational outcomes internationally. (Flynn, Tessier & Coulombe, 2013; Trout, Hagaman, Casey, Reid, & Epstein, 2008).

    Their capacity to thrive in life is hindered by disruptions to their educational experiences, such as switching schools, missing extended periods of time caused by illness or placements, and having weaker academic capabilities. These obstacles may have long-term effects that restrict their aspirations and potential.

    (Feinstein, Hammond, Woods, Preston, & Bynner, 2006) and Okpych and Courtney (2015) have demonstrated that better educational outcomes predict higher earnings and greater likelihood of employment in youth transitioning from care.

  • Foster children find it difficult to build foundations and a sense of security. Their experiences with many individuals and organisations, along with their frequent moves, make it difficult for them to develop a sense of trust and belonging. According to the data, 27% of children in care have moved placements three or more times in a year, which adds to their ongoing unpredictability and strained bonds.

  • Children in care frequently come from homes where there has been trauma, abuse, rejection, and neglect. These encounters leave them with long-lasting wounds that may significantly affect their behaviour, mental health, and capacity to build connections. It should come as no surprise that, in comparison to the general community, up to 80% of children in care require mental health services.

  • Life story work is a crucial aspect of social work, designed to help children answer important questions about their identity and history, such as: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why didn't I grow up with my birth parents?

    Life story work is the process of combining a child’s experiences and emotions to collate a cohesive narrative that clarifies their past, present and future. Allowing for much needed bonds to be created as child and guardian participate and discuss. we empower them to take control of their narratives, process their experiences, and develop a stronger sense of self.