'Farming' of West African Children.

 

In the 1950s, the UK saw a rise in a popular practise referred to loosely as ‘Child Farming’. Essentially it meant that couples were sending their children away to be fostered privately, either by white British families- in poor white areas, or away in the countryside. This practice meant that west African couples who had travelled to the UK to study could focus on receiving their degrees and doing well in their education, without having to worry about the day-to-day care of their children.

In West African culture it is considered normal for children to spend long periods of time away from their parents, however, it would normally be in the care of another family member, well versed in the culture and traditions of said family. Many worry that despite the best efforts of some white families to celebrate and practice West African culture, it often falls short and is a bit unnatural to how it may be practised by someone of natural West African descent.

In 1955, the popular childcare journal Nursery World published its first advert for private foster care of a West African child. This quickly normalised a practice, that at the time went unchecked and unregulated by social services. In 1998, the African Advisory Service (now disbanded) estimated that up to 9 000 children were being cared for in private foster care.

 In the modern-day, sending your children to private foster care is legal, and families are supposed to register with social services, as well as inform them of the arrival or the departure of any children within their care. However, as the UK’s social services are already overworked and outstretched, check-ins are not always made and just as with public fostering, there have been reports of abuse within private households.

Many urge against this practice, as when it is time for the children to return back to Africa with their biological parents, foster parents have been known to fight for custody in court. This risk is seen as too great for many and has attributed to the decline in private fostering. Other families opt for rigorous interview processes to find the right carer, and some are a bit more relaxed, especially if this is seen as a short-term childcare solution. But with most relatives back in Africa this is the next best solution for many families and allows the parents to build a good future for their children.

West African children born and raised in private foster care often speak of their experience as positive, however after being taken back by their biological parents they found themselves struggling with their sense of identity and belonging. It is also important to note that, just as within any form of childcare, the experience is not always a positive one, and even those placed with wonderful families call for a change in parenting style, contributing to the dwindling numbers of West African children being placed in private fostering.