When Lindsay Durham started fostering children, she had no idea how much she would grow to love them.

Over the years, the president of the Bermuda Foster Parent Association has taken in more than 20 children and is now encouraging others to open their homes and hearts to those in need.

“You don’t realise how much you fall in love with these children,” she told The Royal Gazette.

“You think, oh, I’ll grow to care for them but you would do anything for them just like you would your own child, protect them as your own child. It becomes a part of your life, a part of your norm, when the child is with you for so long and they end up relying on you as their go-to person.”

But she stressed more foster parents are desperately needed, along with more financial support, adding that the Bermuda Government “can’t do it all”. Ms Durham, the director of operations and human resources at Rosa’s Cantina and Chopsticks, became a foster parent when she was 24.

“I started off with a four-year-old and then I got her sister a couple of weeks later — that was an eye-opening experience.

“You have to have a lot of patience and heart — it’s got to be something you love to do. It’s got to be for the love of the child because it’s going to be trying, it’s going to be hard. But at the end of the day, to watch them come from where they were to where they end up, is rewarding in itself.”

Ms Durham said that while reunification is the end goal, this doesn’t always happen. And although the Government provides an allowance for toiletries and food, she said it is still “an out-of-pocket expense”.

“The biggest thing that I would say, and I don’t want anybody to take it lightly, is when you become a foster parent and especially with a permanent placement to a certain degree, you’ve got to invest your life in this child.

“The thing is, most people that take these children are regular, working-class citizens — you’re not talking about the rich people taking these children, you’re talking about people that work and have to support their own family and have to take on the extra responsibility of somebody else.”

The Foster Parent Association raises funds to assist foster children and foster families in any capacity needed, be it special school equipment, duffel bags, or medical supplies.

A special fundraiser launched in November saw Rosa’s and Chopsticks collect Christmas presents for all the foster children, as well as children with Big Brothers Big Sisters Bermuda to ensure they have a memorable holiday.

“We just want the children to feel that they are special,” Ms Durham said.

“We don’t want any child to be left behind. The only way we can get through this is if we all help because they have nowhere else to go.”

Melonie Dill, the association’s event co-ordinator, cares for a family member’s child and also helps out when an emergency placement is needed.

“The community needs to be more aware of the need,” she said.

“A lot of people aren’t even aware that we have so many foster children, that there are so many homes that are needed, so they’re kind of oblivious to it.”

Pointing to people who have been foster parents for 20 to 30 years, she said: “We need the next generation to step up and be informed and educated.

“It takes a community — we have to come together and do it together.”

And Teresa Trott-Woolridge, treasurer for the association, added: “We need to put that input in as early as possible, with foster children in particular because they sometimes are impacted or affected by not having a steady figure there all the time, or someone there to give them the support when they need it most.

“These children are part of our community and they’re going to grow up and giving them the best start that we can as a community is only going to be good for us all because one day these children are going to grow up and take care of us.”