From the Riverland to Kadina, and from Port Lincoln to Port Pirie, we caught up with carers across South Australia to share their stories as part of Foster and Kinship Carer Week (8-14 September).

Village life for incredible Riverland foster carers

As the expression goes, it takes a village to raise a child - and never more so than for Riverland foster carers Leonie and Malcolm.

The saintly couple, who live on a 2.5ha block alongside the River Murray near Blanchetown, are currently caring for nine children, most with special needs.

They also have three biological children in their thirties and 11 grandchildren.

“It’s our village,” Leonie said.

“We had influenza go through the place a little while ago and I had to spend a week in hospital with the 15-month-old baby. Everyone pitched in.”

The couple, both 56, who are being celebrated by the Department for Child Protection during Foster and Kinship Carer Week (8-14 September), moved to the Riverland 11 years ago.

They were living in Andrews Farm and travelling to a holiday home every weekend before they finally decided to buy the block near Blanchetown, which now has a nine-bedroom home.

Malcolm, who Leonie describes as a rock, still commutes to Adelaide every day to operate his construction business.

“A lot of our kids were struggling in town, so we decided to make a lifestyle change,” Leonie said.

“We’ve never looked back.”

The couple has had seven children and young people under long-term guardianship, including three who are now adults and who have since moved out. One of those adults, a 24-year-old woman who needs lifetime care, now lives with Leonie’s daughter Monique.

In the home, ages range from the 15 month old to 17-year-old twins.

The couple, supported by provider ac.care, became carers in their early thirties and around the same time Leonie suffered her second bout of breast cancer.

“I was worried the cancer would end my caring journey,” she said. “But I took my babies with me when I had chemo. It kept me going.

“We’ve been very clear why we do it – we just wanted to make a difference.

“You can’t paint it with roses; it’s been a challenge.

“I was never going to be a doctor, I was never going to be a dentist, but I’ve always loved children.”

Department for Child Protection Chief Executive Jackie Bray said Leonie and Malcom were among the state’s most incredible carers.

“Leonie and Malcolm have given up so much of their lives to care for vulnerable children,” she said. “Their little village of love in the Riverland is just so inspirational.

“Foster and Kinship Carer Week is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to celebrate people like the Leonie and Malcolm, and to remind those who are considering becoming a carer just what the rewards can be.”

ac.care Out Of Home Care lead practitioner Shalini McCarthy said the country agency was fortunate to work alongside an incredible network of foster carers who support children and young people to shine every day.

“These amazing people from all walks of life provide the safety, care and support to vulnerable babies, children and young people when they need it most,” she said.

“Their care is transforming the lives of young people and we hope their commitment inspires more country people to start their own journey to becoming a foster carer.

“Long-term foster carers are vital, but there are varying levels of time and commitment you can provide to support a child or young person, including respite for weekends, through to emergency, short-term or long-term care.”

Leonie’s reward is supporting the varied needs of the children she cares for, most of who battle health issues.

She urges others to consider caring, pointing out there are so many children who need support.

But she argues you don’t have to be Wonder Woman or Superman.

“At the end of the day anybody can do this,” she said. “All you need is a room, love to give and time. You need plenty of time.”

For more information on becoming a carer, visit https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/make-a-difference/become-a-foster-carer.

Or call ac.care during business hours on 1300 ACCARE, visit www.accare.org.au(external site) or follow the agency’s Facebook page to be alerted to upcoming information sessions.

Busy Yorke Peninsula home for amazing foster carers

There’s a running joke in the welcoming Kadina home of foster carers Naomi and Darren.

“Darren does a head count every morning before he goes to work,” Naomi said with a chuckle.

The couple, supported by Uniting Country SA (UCSA), has cared for more than 100 children in the past 18 years, along with many others in emergency and respite care.

“Once he came home and said: ‘Oh, there’s more’,” she laughed. “Another time, I rang him and said ‘I’ve had a phone call’. He asked, ‘how many?’.”

“But the house is always busy, and that’s the way I like it.”

Naomi, 47, and Darren, 55, who are being celebrated by the Department for Child Protection during Foster and Kindship Carer Week (8-14 September), currently foster three children aged five years, three years, and eight months.

They also assumed long-term guardianship in 2018 for a teenage brother and sister, who they’d essentially fostered since birth.

The eldest, 17, is busily preparing for the trip of her life – a five-and-a-half month student exchange to the UK.

The Couple has also hosted six exchange students, including a 16-year-old from Norway who is currently with them.

Naomi happily admits her motivations for being a foster carer have changed over the years.

“We went through 11 cycles of IVF,” she said. “I eventually said I don’t care if I give birth to them, so we started fostering.

“To start with, it was about wanting children, but after over 100 children going through the house, it’s become about helping children.

“And it’s also been really good for the older two. It’s made them better people.”

For her part, the eldest agrees, and is grateful for the opportunities provided by the couple, who she calls ‘Mum and Dad’.

“It’s been really good,” she said of growing up in the household, “it’s been absolutely normal.”

“Anything we wanted they’ve supplied and they’ve been really supportive. They’ve been amazing.”

UCSA Foster Care and Respite Service Program Manager Kerry Court has followed the couple’s foster care journey since commencement and “cannot thank them enough for the wonderful impact they have had on the lives of so many children and young people”.

Naomi agrees there are many rewards of foster care, particularly seeing children reunited with their birth parents.

The future for the household looks exciting – a big family trip is planned to catch up with the eldest in the UK, and some of their past exchange students.

“We’re taking everyone to Europe for a month,” Naomi said. “Lord help me!”

Foster caring a family affair for Hills couple

Foster caring runs in the family for Adelaide Hills couple Tracy and Stephen - and what a family it is.

The couple, who are being celebrated by the Department for Child Protection during Foster and Kinship Carer Week, have eight biological children, and look after another six in care.

Four of those are siblings under long-term guardianship, and the couple are in the process of assuming guardianship of a fifth, a three-year-old boy.

The youngest boy, who’s now 14 months, is under short-term care.

All were taken into care by the couple at just a few weeks old.

“I love babies,” Tracy said, without really needing to say it.

Tracy’s eight biological children are aged 15-34

“I gave birth to every one of them,” she said proudly. “And three still live at home.

“That’s nine children at home. It’s busy, but it’s fun too.”

Tracy said her sister, who’s been a foster carer for 25 years, inspired her to offer a home to children in need.

She said her and Stephen had ‘ummed and ahhed’ about fostering, then …

“She got a newborn baby - I took one look and thought: ‘oh yeah, definitely’,” Tracy said.

Tracy said all the children placed with the family were good babies but had their own health challenges.

“We’re doing what we can to help them,” Tracy said. “It can be hard work - kids aren’t always easy but at the same time it’s not their fault.

“One of our greatest motivations was to break the cycle for these children, so they can grow up in a stable home, have relationships, get married and eventually have children of their own.

“The difference you make in their lives is just so rewarding. I’d do it over-and-over again.”

Tracy said the couple, supported by provider ac.care, progressed through the approvals and training process and were carers in a matter of months.

Tracy and Stephen’s selfless approach has also inspired their own children to foster.

Their eldest daughter Holly has two children in long-term guardianship, and their younger daughter Maddy also has plans.

Maddy, 24, has applied to take on the care of the youngest boy in her mother and father’s care.

“I just thought it was lovely,” Tracy said. “They have a beautiful bond.

“She’s a childcare worker and has a lot of experience being a foster care big sister.”

Adventure wonderland for foster care family

Murraylands foster carers Suzanne and Darren have created an adventure wonderland for the young children in their care.

The couple, who live at Rockleigh, north of Monarto, moved to their 130-acre block from Adelaide 12 years ago.

Since then, thousands of trees have been planted by Trees for Life, in a revegetation program run by Landcare.

Throw in horses, sheep, and a few alpacas, along with motorbikes, pushbikes, a swimming pool and tree houses down by the creek, and suddenly the options become endless for the children aged eight to 13.

That is if you can get them off their devices.

“You just need to send them out the door every now and then,” Suzanne said. “You’ve got 130 acres – off you go.”

Suzanne and Darren, who are being celebrated by the Department for Child Protection during Foster and Kinship Carer Week (8-14 September) have been foster carers since 1999, when then seven-year-old Jason arrived at their door two days before Christmas.

He’s now 32, and still living nearby.

“Darren was going to all the shops trying to find a push bike,” Suzanne said. “Santa Clause gave him a bike helmet and he said: ‘what do I need this for?’

“Well, have look around Jase … he was very happy when he found it.”

The foster care journey began for Suzanne, now 60, and Darren, 62, when they couldn’t have children of their own.

Since then the couple, supported by provider ac.care, has fostered more than 30 children, including seven in long-term care.

One, 23, still lives in a granny flat on the property, while another, 25, who needs life-long care, also lives nearby.

Three of the four children currently in care with Suzanne and Darren are siblings. They have four other siblings living in care with friends of the couple, and another also visits for respite care.

“They all get to see each other,” Suzanne said, “which is nice.”

Suzanne said one of her greatest rewards was the response from the children they have cared for - most have since changed their surname to the couple’s.

“It’s nice when they want to do that,” she said. “It makes them feel like they belong.

“When people ask how many kids I have, I say I’ve got seven.

“We wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t rewarding. It’s nice to see them grow up and become something; to become good people.

Chatty little boy more than enough reward for Mt Gambier carers

The reward for Mount Gambier foster carer Patti is plain to see.

It’s the 10-year-old boy she’s cared for since birth.

“They said he wouldn’t walk or talk,” she said of the boy who has a number of health conditions. “He definitely does now.

“He won’t stop chatting – he’s come such a long way.”

Patti said the boy will need lifetime care, but goes to school and leads a full life.

“He’s a very happy boy and doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” she said.

Patti and her husband David, both 68, supported by provider ac.care, also have long-term care of a six-year-old girl, who started school this year.

They’re among the 60-odd children the couple, who are being celebrated by the Department for Child Protection during Foster and Kinship Carer Week (8-14 September), have cared for over the past 15 years.

They also continue to provide short term and respite care.

Patti, a trained nurse, has always wanted to care for children, but finally took the step, motivated by the tragic death of her son Justin. The 28-year-old was killed in a storm while working on a shark fishing boat.

“I’ve always had the yearn to help kids in need,” she said. “It’s always been something I wanted to do – it’s who I am.

“I just want to show them what love is.”

As well as all those foster children, Patti and David, who are now pensioners, have six adult children and 15 grandchildren between them.

“We’re a step family,” she said. “The Brady Bunch (television show) has a lot to answer for, because that certainly wasn’t what it was like here.”

Patti said even now she is constantly learning about being a foster carer, and regularly attends education and training sessions conducted by ac.care.

She thoroughly recommends foster caring to others, even if it’s just short term or respite care.

“You’ve got to have a genuine love for children,” she said. “I certainly wouldn’t sugar coat it, but it is very rewarding.

“To see how our boy has grown is amazing – that’s what love does.”

Port Pirie locals celebrated as foster carers

Retired couple Jo and Eion have four foster children, but that hasn’t stopped them enjoying life after work.

“It just means that we travel with the children - we take them with us,” Jo said.

The Port Pirie couple has a “blended family” of seven adult children between them and started fostering 12 years ago after their biological children had flown the nest.

They have a very busy household with four children under the age of 14, two with complex disability whose needs encouraged Jo to retire early.

“One or four, it doesn’t matter. It was about opening our home for these children,” she said.

The children call them Nan and Pop, or their “heart Mum and Dad”, and Jo and Eion do as much as they can to keep them connected with their biological families.

One of the children is part of a soccer team and his biological mum comes out to watch him play each week. Another child is Aboriginal and Jo and Eion are taking her back to country later this year to connect with culture and family.

“All kids want is to be loved by their mum and dad and biologically they need to have an understanding of where they come from and where they sit in this world.”

Something else that the couple believe the children need is to see the world and how other people live.

Their family holidays include trips to Bali, seeing elephants in Thailand and an upcoming cruise to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef.

“Seeing the world and learning things is really important,” Jo said.

“It’s important to see how other people live in this life—that there are people who aren’t as fortunate as us.

“We have a caravan as well and travel when we can. Swim, ride your bikes until you’re absolutely exhausted.”

The couple are supported by Uniting Country, and while it can be difficult at times, they receive many rewards from from the children in their care.

“What we see is these beautiful children grow and reach their full potential in life.”

Uniting Country SA Program Manager Kerry Court said Jo and Eion really highlight the importance of children and young people being connected to their family and culture.

“They advocate and make an active effort to ensure the children in their care grow their sense of identity and along with it, their wellbeing,” she said.

“We cannot thank them enough for the care they provide and the loving home they give to those that call them their ‘heart Mum and Dad’ or ‘Nan and Pop’.”