Jo has had a statue unveiled in her honour (Picture: Tony Kershaw)
A statue has been unveiled in Londonās South Bank to commemorate Jo Newby, a selfless woman thatās fostered 92 children over a period of 18 years.
The 52-year-old from East Yorkshire, says what she does is nothing that special, and doesnāt realise how inspiring her actions are.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, she says: āFostering was something Iād always wanted to do.
āIād always been around children. āIād babysit for people and family and I was always on hand to help with children.
āI started work as a nursery nurse, then became a nanny, and the local children would always gravitate towards my house.
āMy son would always bring friends home. Iād volunteered at my sonās school, and when he reached his 30s, my husband and I decided we wanted to foster children that werenāt as fortunate as him.
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āWe had space in our house and in our hearts, so we thought fostering was something we wanted to try.ā
Initially Jo and her husband planned to try fostering for five years, then reassess.
āWeāve never reevalutated the situation,ā she beams. āItās our lifestyle now.ā
Of the children who have stayed with her, the length of time they stay varies ā it can be anything from a day to five or six years.
āSometimes a child just needs somewhere safe to come for an afternoon,ā Jo explains.
āWe do short-term fostering, but that can still involve years of care.
āWe felt where we could work the best was in emergencies and situations that involve stepping in quickly.ā
That can mean fostering a child within two hours.
Jo often gets emergency calls late at night when someone needs somewhere to say.
āI donāt often say no to placements,ā she says. āIf we have room and theyāll fit with the other children, weāll take them.ā
At most, sheās had seven children under her roof at one time.
Joās statue shows her holding balloons to represent the children she fostered (Picture Tony Kershaw)
āIt takes a real art to make someone feel welcome when you know very little about them and they know nothing about you.ā
Given sheās fostered as many as 92 children ā and counting ā Jo remembers them all, and is very sentimental about the experience, considering them family.
She says, with tears in her eyes: āI remember every single one of them. Each child takes a little part of you away with them.
āYou invest in loving and caring for them, you canāt not lose a little bit of you when they leave.
āI donāt keep tons of memorabilia, because youād have loads, but I have a photo album thatās got my favourite picture of each person in it.
āIn the bathroom, we have an eclectic wall with signed wooden hearts on the walls.
āI donāt need a physical reminder though, because I have stories of every one of them.ā
When itās time for a child to go, itās a complex emotional process for Jo.
She says: āItās got to be a positive thing, because youāve got to convey the message to that child or young person that this is a good thing.
āYou can tell them youāll miss them, but you canāt show youāre too sad.
āWe celebrate the time we had the positives we all got out of it.
āAs soon as theyāre pulling off the drive, we cry and it gets you.
āYou have to make sure you make time to process it because you canāt pour from an empty cup, so if you donāt look after yourself, you canāt look after others.
āSometimes I just know I need a day or some time to process the emotion.ā
Jo always tells the children sheās always there for them, and often children will visit and return to her in some way ā years after theyāve left her home. She even still supports some of them.
One of those children, Kasper, Jo later legally adopted and nursed through a brain injury coma.
āI believe every child deserves permanence and Kasper was considered ānot a candidate for adoptionā,ā Jo says.
Until the statue of Jo was unveiled, she never considered her impact on all of this children ā and how sheās made their lives better.
āIt took my breath away,ā says Jo of her new statue. āIām just a normal housewife doing the same as thousands of other foster carers in the country.
āI hope it shows ordinary people can have an impact.ā
She says sheāll keep fostering children for as long as she can (Picture: Tony Kershaw)
Crowned ā#MyKINDHeroā by KIND snacks, after being nominated for the acknowledgement by her husband, Chris, her statue shows her holding 92 balloons ā each representing one child sheās fostered.
Sheād always believed the children she looked after would prefer to not look back on their time in foster care, but recently saw one of her previous visitors, who said āshe values the input Iāve had in her lifeā.
āYou always think that you want to influence a young person, but because fostering can be seen so negatively, youād think care leavers would want to put it behind him, so you never consider whether they remember you,ā she explains.
āNothing can take the place of a healthy upbringing with your birthparents ā nothing can quite match that ā but if thatās not possible, the next best thing is to live with people who care for you and value you.ā
She also believes fostering can have a bad reputation given the misconceptions around the financing of it. Foster parents are given money to help provide for the child, and sometimes itās not enough to cover a childās care.
Despite this, what motivates Jo to keep going is the children themselves and providing them a safe home.
āWe havenāt fostered a lot in my view,ā she says shockingly, āI have a close friend whoās been doing the job for 30 years and has fostered over 300.
āIāll do this so long as Iām physically able.ā
It also involves being organised to a āmilitary levelā and teaching the children life skills to help with house chores where appropriate.
On top of all this, she also co-founded Barton Inclusive Football Club Hull, a football club for pan-disability children.
She did this after realising there were no competitive teams in her region that catered to the community.
Supporting children and improving their life experience has always been a priority for her.
āThatās what drives me ā childhood should be positive and you should have the opportunities, and thatās what I help to make possible for the children I care for,ā she says.
āEvery child should meet their dreams and potential, and if I can have a little hand in helping them get there, thatās it.ā
Jo’s advice for those considering fostering
Make sure youāve got the support of your family
Make sure youāre strong enough emotionally
Ensure you have enough time
Be realistic about it because the challenges can be vast
Jo Newby has been named the #MyKindHero following the nationwide search by KIND Snacks to uncover the UKās Kind Hero.Ā The commemorative statue is designed to inspire Brits to follow Joās lead and commit more acts of kindness ā in its bid to build a kinder world.
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‘I remember every single one of them. Each child takes a little part of you away with them.’Ā