Breakfast shines light on foster care and its impact

FOSTER carers and their impact on young lives were celebrated at GMBHA Stadium last week during Meli’s third annual Foster a Future Breakfast.

The annual event blended humour, emotion and lived experience to honour the local carers who provide children with stability and safety, and raise awareness for the urgent need for more families to open their homes to children in need.

Australian cricketing great Lisa Sthalekar delivered the keynote address, stepping in as a late replacement for disability awareness and family support advocate Sophie Delezio, who had to withdraw to attend to a family matter.

Sthalekar spoke movingly of her own beginnings. Abandoned as a newborn in India, she spent her first weeks in an orphanage in Chennai.

She was later adopted into an Australia family and went onto forge a trailblazing career in cricket that included four World Cup victories, a milestone 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in One Day International competitions, and an induction into the ICC Hall of Fame.

Fighting back tears, she recalled a visit back to the orphanage at the height of her career. There, she met with both children and staff at the facility, including a carer who had been there in 1979 when she was an infant.

“While I was there for only three weeks, those carers gave the love, attention and care and I needed to start off my life,” she said.

“If I didn’t have them, I don’t know where I’d be. So even though it’s a small amount of time, it can have such a huge impact on a child’s life.”

Drawing a direct connection to foster care, she added: “I think you guys do a wonderful job. It may be for a weekend, it may be for a night, but that can have such a big impact.”

Meli chief executive Robyn Hayles praised the dedication of foster carers and highlighted the urgent need for more people to step forward.

“It’s really important that we highlight the important word our foster carers do and the contribution that they make to society,” she said.

“The sense of safety and stability that you offer literally changes lives.”

Australian television personality Myf Warhurst, best known for her work on ABC’s long-running music-themed quiz show Spicks and Specks, returned as MC for the third time.

She spoke candidly about her own experience as a foster carer.

“If you’re thinking about it, just do it,” she said. “The best thing you can do for a child is help them and help them feel safe.”

The breakfast also featured a conversation between panellists Meli care services manager Jo Dumesny, past care leaver Jesse Miller and foster carer Gel Klein-Boonschate, who provided further insight into the realities of care and the powerful difference it makes.

The morning closed with a community raffle, with more than $8,000 worth of prizes given away.