Angela POPA, Professional Foster Parent, Călărași District

“Professional foster care offers the opportunity to do good, to give love and affection to children who truly need it.”

Angela Popa is a professional foster parent from Călărași District.

Mrs. Angela remembers precisely the date when each of the four children was placed in her care.

The decision to welcome a child into their family was influenced by their youngest son. Mrs. Angela and her husband have two biological children, and when their eldest son left for his studies, their younger son, who remained at home, would often say that he wished another child would join their family—just as had happened in the family of some neighbors in the village who had recently become professional foster parents.

“That’s when we said we, too, could do something good, and we agreed,” Mrs. Angela recalls, although she admits she initially worried about disrupting the peace and comfort to which her family was accustomed. However, she says that she was supported in making this decision by relatives and friends, and that the opinion of the village mattered less to her, since their decision came from the heart and was already half made.

Mrs. Popa believes that to be a professional foster parent, one must have a big heart, and that food and clothing alone are not enough to raise a child.

“Giving a child food and clothes, washing and dressing them, is not everything. First and foremost, you must offer affection—the love they need most. Those who are able to do something meaningful for a child should not hesitate, because it brings immense joy and deep emotional fulfillment when you see their success, when you know how much effort you have invested, when you witness the transformation of a child who arrived in critical condition and now smiles, plays, and sleeps peacefully. And that is something no salary can ever compensate for.”

The Professional Foster Care Service has been successfully implemented in Călărași. In total, there are 30 professional foster parents active in the district, eight of whom are families from the village of Bravicea. To date, 41 children have benefited from the Professional Foster Care Service.

Mrs. Angela believes that this success is largely due to the social worker, who has been a strong advocate of the service, as well as to the openness of the local community toward children facing family difficulties. Equally important has been the support of local authorities, the family doctor, the priest, and educational institutions, all of whom have consistently provided concrete support to foster families.