Mother's Day gratitude from a former foster child

Fun times and lots of smiles. Selina and Jaharn's bond is strong. (Supplied/ ABC graphics) Link copiedShareShare articleUnsure if he was lovable as a child, Jaharn recalls the dread he felt when Mother's Day was celebrated at school. Watching his friends greet and hug their parents while he remained alone was confusing. One question dominated his thoughts: "Why don't my parents love me?" That anxiety is no longer a concern for the confident 19-year-old, who grew up in out-of-home care and holds his own when advocating with some of Australia's most seasoned politicians. There is certainty in the knowledge that his mum cares for him by choice and he lives in a home that is consistently secure and loving. This Sunday, Jaharn Mundy-Drazevich will honour Selina Walker, the Ngunnawal woman who "became one of the strongest parental figures, not just in my life, but in the wider community". "If she wasn't there, I honestly don't know where I would have ended up," said the Yuin, Ngunnawal and Ngarigo man. "She didn't have to take us on, but she did." Jaharn, as a young kid, soaking up the sun and surf on a family holiday. (Supplied) At the tender age of two-months-old Jaharn was removed from his birth parents and then placed in a series of different foster homes. After an incident where he said he was badly burned, he found his way to his forever home. Selina was 29 years-old when she made the decision to be a kinship foster parent. "When I was told that they were going to have to go to foster care because I couldn't find any other kinship carers, that's when I decided that I would take [Jaharn] into my care," she says Young Jaharn was accompanied by six closely aged relatives. Settling in and building a family took more than a decade, according to the woman who raised Jaharn as a single parent. Selina remembers that Jaharn's big lesson was "to let go of the parenting; that I was the adult". "I'm not abandoning you. I look after the other [children] … so he could actually just be a kid." Selina said being a foster carer was "not easy work". "It is very tough trying to raise a traumatised child. But the reward is seeing them thrive and, like with Jaharn, wanting to give back [to the community]. This has been our cultural way for a very long time. Now an adult, Jaharn (pictured here with Selina) wants to advocate for kids like him. (Supplied/ ABC graphics) Selina has been a foster mother for more than 20 years and is currently the kinship carer of nine children. The foster carer was recognised for her efforts in 2017 when she was named the ACT's Barnardos' Mother of the Year, and more recently when awarded the 2024 ACT Australian of the Year Local Hero. Selina is a founding member of Yerrabi Yurwang Child and Family Aboriginal Corporation, a community-controlled organisation helping Indigenous families and children. Winners are grinners! Jaharn said his childhood was better because of his foster mother. (Supplied) Jaharn credits Selina as responsible for the young man he is today, through her unconditional love. He is keen to work within the mental health sector with children and teenagers, having been inspired by Selina, he said. "I'm on several youth advisory boards and groups now," Jaharn said. "I want to do a bachelor's degree in social work and to work in the care and protection role or as a caseworker. "I want to help them and be a stable guide and mentor." Throughout his early life, there were times when dreams of university seemed beyond his imagination. "I've gone through a lot of mental health challenges," he said. About seven years ago, he learnt of his Yuin heritage, from the south coast of NSW. Jaharn hopes he can help children like his foster mother, Selina, has. (Supplied: SNAICC) At a funeral for his grandfather two years ago, he finally met his aunties, uncles and cousins. "That first real connection came through Sorry Business, which made the experience meaningful but also heavy." Lived experience drives his advocacy to ensure all Aboriginal youth in out-of-home care and their carers are case managed by Aboriginal community-controlled agencies. His passion to see young people maintain ties to their community saw Jaharn standing next to Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek at Parliament House, where they addressed a crowd in March this year. Jaharn joined an alliance of organisations, including the national voice for Aboriginal children — SNAICC — to call on the government to urgently address the high rates of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. Jaharn was invited to share at a Closing the Gap event. (Supplied: SNAICC) Under the National Closing the Gap Agreement, all governments made a commitment to reduce the number of Indigenous youth in the system. However, the latest data shows Indigenous children are about 10 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than other Australians. Catherine Liddle the CEO of SNAICC also spoke at the event and said Indi

Mother's Day gratitude from a former foster child

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Mother's Day gratitude from a former foster child

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