Staying Put: How Aki found a new home and a new life in the UK
Aki shares his powerful story of fleeing his home country in Africa as a sanctuary-seeking child; adjusting to life with a UK foster family, and his hopes and dreams for the future.
“I was 14 when I came to the UK from my home country of Eritrea"
We spoke to 18-year-old Aki, a young man from Eritrea who is living in Derby with his foster parents. Aki lives with his foster family in a ‘Staying Put’ placement, which is where young people stay with their foster parents after turning 18 to better help them adjust to independence.
While preparing for life as an adult in the UK, Aki is studying at college and shared his story with us - from leaving his home country in Africa and what it was like to adjust to life in the UK, to his hopes and dreams for the future.
What is life like for young people in Eritrea?
The political climate in Eritrea is often fraught due to tensions with neighbouring Ethiopia, following Eritrea gaining independence and the Badme War in the 1990s.
18-year-old Aki came to the UK from Eritrea when he was still only a child, seeking refuge and a better life. When he left his home country in 2021, he became one of over 580,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers to start a new life outside of their home country.
“I was 14 turning 15 when I came to the UK from my home country of Eritrea. I came without my parents, and it was a really scary time. A lot of people like me leave Eritrea in search of a safer life.
"For young people in particular, there aren’t many opportunities to get a good education or jobs, and there are lots of restrictions on movement. Everyone is forced to join the army, with only a very few exceptions like if you have a disability or are a woman who marries young or has children.”
Most people leaving Eritrea do so because of the country’s compulsory military service, which is supposed to last for only 18 months, but in many cases forces people to remain in their roles indefinitely. Military recruits are given no choice in the work they do and are often assigned tasks including agricultural labour and construction work.
Amnesty International has identified that children as young as 15 and 16 are at risk of being conscripted into military service in Eritrea.
Aki’s journey to the UK
“You can be shot or put in prison for trying to leave the country, so many people risk their lives to leave Eritrea. I had to leave my parents behind, which was heart-breaking. I was able to first enter Ethiopia by bus, where my sister was able to support me to get a plane ticket to get to the UK.”
Aki arrived in London, where his sister was already living. His top priority upon seeking asylum was getting a place in a school so that he could continue his education.
“I really, really wanted to start at school,” Aki said. “That was my biggest goal. Because of everything that was happening with the Covid-19 pandemic at the time, it was really hard to find a place, and I wasn’t in education for my first year in the UK. During that time, social services started looking for a foster family for me. I was quite reluctant about joining someone else’s family at first, but agreed to meet with a couple, Helen and Alan, just to see how things went. I really liked them, and after our first meeting I asked if I could come to live with them in Derby. They said yes, and the rest is history.”
The transformative support of a loving foster family
Cultural matching can be a really important element of foster care, especially for sanctuary-seeking children who are starting a new life in an unfamiliar country. The team at Fosterplus matched Aki with Helen and Alan, as Helen is also Eritrean. Together the couple have fostered several Eritrean children over the years, helping them settle into life in the UK and providing Aki with a family of Eritrean foster siblings.
Having a level of comfort and familiarity when it comes to things like language, culture and food can help children to adjust to their new environment while keeping hold of their identity. Aki said:
“Everything with Helen and Alan has been perfect - they are a really loving and welcoming couple. We have been together for four years now. Being able to join their family has been a perfect match for me. It’s been really nice to have that shared culture with Helen, who can speak my home language Tigrinya with me, and to learn so much from Alan, who has helped me to improve my English and learn more about life in the UK..”
Aki has thrived with his foster family over the years and has built an especially close bond with Helen and Alan’s daughter, who treats Aki just like her big brother. He said:
“My foster sister is only nine, and she treats me like her best friend in the world. When we go to pick her up from school as a family, I’m always the one she runs to first. Being able to stay with Helen and Alan - even though I’m 18 now - through the ‘Staying Put’ arrangement means a lot to me. We’ll always have that special bond between the four of us. Whenever I’ve needed help, they’ve been there for me.”
Looking towards a bright future
At age 18, Aki is taking his first steps into adulthood in a very different world from the one he grew up in. Aki intends to make the most of the opportunities life in the UK can offer and is living each day to the fullest. He said:
“I'm currently at college studying my Maths and English GCSEs, as well as taking a course in carpentry and joinery. I’ll be moving on to an apprenticeship soon and I’ve just passed my driving theory test and having practical lessons, so there’s a busy year ahead. In my free time I’ve got lots of hobbies, like going to the gym and going out cycling with my friends.”
“I also do quite a bit of travelling up and down the country to see my cousins and siblings, who also live in the UK. Sadly, I’ve not been able to keep in contact with my parents back in Eritrea. It’s very difficult, not knowing what is happening with your family, and I hope that one day that will change. I’m grateful to have other relatives in the UK, and to know that we’ll be able to keep in touch with each other as the years go by.”
“The journey has been difficult. When you’ve experienced challenges like those we faced back in Eritrea, you never take opportunities for granted. I’m grateful to Helen and Alan for giving me some amazing support over the years and welcoming me into the family.”
Could you foster a sanctuary-seeking child?
Most of the children who arrive unaccompanied in the UK are teenage boys, like Aki. There are many reasons why children may flee their home country without their parents, such as war, persecution or the threat of recruitment into armed forces or militia groups. Other children are brought to the UK with the promise of being able to work freely and send money home to their families, only to find themselves in debt bondage where they are forced to work for free or in illegal trades.
If you’re interested in learning more about why children come to the UK alone, we highly recommend this presentation from Lawyers Who Care on the subject, a UK-based mentoring organisation who support care-experienced young people to develop careers in law.
Learn more about how you can help vulnerable young people from across the world by fostering a sanctuary-seeking child in the UK.
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