Just because I’m a foster child, doesn’t mean I can’t achieve everything I want

Bebe shares their experience of being fostered and how their foster carer helped to unlock their true potential.

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“Just because I’m a foster child, doesn’t mean I can’t achieve everything I want.”

Just because I’m a foster child doesn’t mean that I can’t achieve everything that I want. 

Bebe’s foster parents saw a spark in her running ability, now she’s competing as an international T44 para-athlete.

I’m Bebe, I’m 17 years-old and I’ve lived with my foster parents Mick and Pauline Davis since I was 11.

I compete in 100m, 200m, long-jump and discus. It feels like I belong here on the track, I love the adrenaline and that feeling when I’m ahead, I always say to myself ‘don’t slow down, just keep running!’. It’s a real community feeling, like another family.

In a year’s time I hope to be Commonwealth Youth Champion, then onto the 2028 Paralympic Games. I’ve got many dreams, I also want to inspire other people with my journey and to show them that anything is possible.”

You always get told as a child, as a foster care child especially, ‘oh you can’t do anything because you’ve had a hard life’, but I think their opinions are irrelevant. It’s more about how I feel about myself and what success looks like for me, when I win that gold medal for example.

Just because I’m a foster child doesn’t mean that I can’t achieve everything that I want. There’s often a stereotype. Mick and Pauline have really encouraged me, they were the first to see my potential as a para-athlete and they’ve been my biggest supporters ever since.

I would say, to anyone thinking of taking on a foster child, that if you think you can make a person’s life better, then why don’t you do it!

Change a child’s life by becoming a foster carer

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