Tutela Feed August 2021
Santos’ Story
This blurry photo was taken on the day Santos* was placed with Fabio and Isabel, our second foster carers. Our Social Worker was capturing a moment where the placement was about to break down because of the sheer vulnerability of the situation. Amazingly, the placement came together and Santos is now settling in to his new life with his new family.
Full of fear and extremely down-trodden, Santos had no-one in his life who cared for his well-being. The extended family who he used to live with would mistreat and reject him every day, to the extent that he would only eat when everyone else had eaten and he would only be allowed to sleep on the hard floor in the home. He was essentially the outcast and the unwanted one.
Lots of work went in to investigating his situation and confirming the exact nature of his circumstances and yet at the same time, it was all too clear on his face that he lived in a home where he was not welcome.
(* = Name has been changed to protect confidentiality)
Santos’ mother had passed away a few years ago and his father, who had pursued a life of addiction and anger, was not in any shape to take care of his son. He lived in his aunty’s home and the burden of feeding an extra mouth was too much for them, hence the reason for the rejection and resentment of his presence in that home.
The day Santos arrived at Fabio and Isabel’s house, he had thought he was being kidnapped. The fear in his life was so strong that he found it hard to believe what anyone would tell him, and certainly would be very suspicious of anyone saying that there was a new home that would love and accept him, where he could feel peace and safety. It took a great deal of convincing for him to finally get in to the car and be driven half an hour down the road to a brand new life.
Santos is now with new siblings and new parents and is learning to disarm himself from the fear and trauma, and beginning to let down his guard in small ways. He still holds a fairly street-wise attitude that is suspicous of those who seem kind and caring, but we hope and pray that over the course of time he will learn that there are people in this world who can be fully trusted and that he is a precious and wonderful young lad.