WITH this week being Harmony Week, there’s never been a better time to highlight the importance of foster caring and spreading the message of acceptance and love for all.

Few people have embraced that message better than Victorian woman and foster carer Pauline Oliver-Snell and her wider family. The Hamilton-based carer has fostered more than 100 children over 25 years, and has compassion running through her veins, after being born into a family of compassionate foster carers before her.

“Every child deserves to be loved and kids can feel the love,” Pauline said.

“It’s consistency, it’s a hell of a lot of patience.”

Pauline, who is a foster carer via Mackillop Family Services, says she’s observed just how difficult it can be for foster children who are sometimes left out of social events or struggle with formative experiences such as school or sports. Through it all, she says the most important thing is that the children in her care feel she has their back and will always be on their side, even if others aren’t.

Pauline was born into foster caring, inspired by the generosity of her own grandparents and parents. Many years ago Pauline’s grandparents sponsored an Austrian family who arrived in Australia, while her own parents sponsored one of the first Vietnamese families to seek refuge in Australia by boat during the 1970’s, and the family have kept in contact ever since