Every Child Deserves a Loving Home 

Our vision is a Muslim community that has opened its homes and hearts to children who were denied the right to be raised in a safe and caring family environment. We strive to enact this vision by educating, connecting with, and screening potential foster families. Funds raised will go towards spreading awareness of the importance of fostering in the Muslim community, and hiring a social worker who can conduct screening interviews and follow-ups with Muslim foster families. FosterLink's current region is southern Ontario, Canada.

Please visit our website to learn more about FosterLink.

FosterLink is now in our second year. Alhumdulliah, last year your contributions were helpful in reaching out to over 100 potential foster care candidates. We've connected with several children's aid societies, ran events in a number of masjids, and was able to hire summer students for marketing and intake. 

In 2019 our goal is to expand outreach activities in the city of Toronto by running more seminars and beginning a Facebook Ad campaign. We have already trained a group of FosterLink Ambassadors who will help with educating and evaluating new foster care candidates. Once approved these candidates will be referred to Childrens Aid Society for training and certification, inshaAllah. With your generous support we will use your donations to help fund Facebook advertising, printing of collateral and hopefully to hire a coordinator after our summer students have finished their workterm. 

Only One Certified Muslim Foster Family in the Entire Region?! 

If memory serves me correctly, it was 1987, when my mother welcomed three Pakistani foster children into our home. The mother of these children was murdered by their father. With neither of their parents in their lives, they stayed with a kind Christian foster family before a social worker from the Children’s Aid Society asked my mother to open our home to them. The children were eventually repatriated with their mother’s family in Pakistan. But the few months they were with us made an impression on me and my siblings. We shared our space and belongings, and made them part of our family. And we occasionally got a glimpse of the trauma they carry from the loss of their mother.

Fast-forward thirty years later. It’s April 2017 and a representative from Children’s Aid Society has asked to address the Friday congregation at our local mosque. He says that in their care are children from the Muslim community but there is only one certified Muslim caregiver family in our entire region.

Aggravated and puzzled, I picked up the letter and brochure the representative left behind with a determination of seeing a change in these numbers. 

You, I, and most of us enjoy a prosperous life in Canada. But poverty, poor health, domestic violence, and children from broken families exist. And we, as privileged Muslims, must do something about it, God willing.

Shahzad Mustafa
Mercy Mission Canada

What will the funds go towards?

Facebook Advertising Campaign: $3,500 will go towards paying for advertising on Facebook and Instagram to attract more interested candidates.  

Employing a Coordinator: ​To pay the salary of a part-time employee to help with administration, marketing and research. We are earmarking $7,500 for four months of a part-time salary. 

Miscellaneous Marketing Expenses: $1,000 will be used for the cost of running events, producing banners and brochures, and website maintenance.

How else can you help?

Giving generously this Ramadan by contributing to this campaign. We also need your help spreading the word on foster care giving, so please share our website (fosterlink.ca) with your community.