Olympian Fatima Whitbread leads Derry foster walk

Fatima Whitbread won silver and bronze Olympic medals

A teenager and his foster family have spoken of their joy after walking with Olympic medallist Fatima Whitbread in Londonderry to help raise awareness for children in foster care.

The javelin thrower joined forces with the Fostering Network for the walk through the city on Thursday.

She shared her own experience after saying she was "abandoned as a baby".

Ms Whitbread walked across both the Peace Bridge and Craigavon Bridge towards Guildhall Square, accompanied by about 60 people.

She is also meeting the children’s commissioner and will spend some time with young people and their foster carers.

Fatima Whitbread walked with foster carers and their families in Londonderry

She shared her own lived experience of foster care with BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today and said fostering is a rewarding experience.

Marie Horton has been a foster carer for eight years.

She told North West Today that she began her fostering journey after her husband passed away.

"I've had 12 different children now through my care and I have absolutely loved it," she said.

"It brings me huge fulfilment every day to put a smile on a child's face."

Helene Goodwin has been a foster carer with her husband, Andrew, for 16 years.

"My foster child is Thomas, he is 15 now and has been with us for 10 years," she outlined.

"Our fostering journey has not always been an easy one, it has had many ups and down, but we wouldn't change it for the world.

"I feel blessed every day for having a foster son in our lives and I would support anyone who would be considering doing the same."

Fatima joined families in the north west at the Guildhall

'Kids like me shouldn't just get lucky'

Thomas said meeting Fatima is something he will never forget and told her how proud he was to join her on the walk.

"Walking and promoting fostering is amazing for me, it makes me feel part of a community.

"One of the things I told Fatima was for kids like me, it shouldn't just be about getting lucky with foster families, it should be a guarantee," he said.

"We definitely need more foster carers in the system and promoting fostering with events like this is incredibly important."

The Foster Network's Kathleen Toner says it was an honour to host Fatima

Fatima Whitbread said in her own experience she was "abandoned as a baby, some would say left to die".

"A neighbour said they heard a baby crying in a flat and hadn't heard anyone coming for a few days, so the police came and banged the door down and rescued me.

"I spent six months recovering from malnutrition and spent the next 14 years in children's homes."

Fatima said she vividly remembers living in foster homes staring out at car parks hoping it was her mother in each car that drove past coming to collect her.

"Anyone can be a foster carer and you can help a child not only survive but thrive," she said.

Director of the Fostering Network Kathleen Toner said they were thrilled to have the Olympian in the city to highlight foster care.

"There are nearly 4,000 children in the care system in Northern Ireland and 80% of those are in foster care," she said.

"We have about 700 children in this area [the north west] alone."

Ms Toner said the event is all about highlighting the fantastic work foster carers do and encouraged anyone considering to reach out.