Ian Anand Forber-Pratt was raised in Natick after being adopted from India by a caring couple. Now an adult with a growing family of his own, Forber-Pratt has made it his life’s work to address foster care in his country of origin. He now lives in New Delhi, and is pioneering innovative ways to change children’s lives through fostering.
Natick In Perspective
Forber-Pratt has fond memories of growing up in Natick, and this past July, he returned with his wife and son for three weeks to visit his parents. The connections he made during his years in town remain strong.
“We had coffee with my 9th grade English teacher, and ran into my 5th grade teacher as well as a librarian who read to me as a child, and she helped my mother and 6 month old son find a book,” he said. “It reminded me that Natick helped me have a childhood; it was safe and offered a true sense of community.”
“The children in India I work with often do not have a community, do not have a teacher who hugs them with open arms, and do not have a place to proudly bring their family to visit,“ he continued.
Six years ago, Forber-Pratt sold all his possessions and left the United States to move to India. He had a clear concept of the changes he wanted to make in the country, enacting them was more complex than he had anticipated.
Steady Progress
India’s population includes 470 million children, and a vast number of them are in orphanages. Currently, there are less than 25 licensed foster homes in the entire country. There is much work to be done, not only in foster care, but also in protecting India’s most vulnerable citizens.
“During my on-the-ground experience, my vision expanded to work in family strengthening, foster care and aftercare,” Forber-Pratt explained. He realized these elements need to be built up alongside one another for progress to happen.
The past couple of years have been promising. He set up a successful one-stop shop for family-based care in the city of Udaipur, and was invited onto a drafting committee for the first central level foster care legislation in the history of India.
“When this legislation was passed, someone was needed in New Delhi to advocate with the government for more legislation surrounding the protection of children, and to help bridge the gap between the laws on paper and the actual practices,” he said.
He moved with his wife to New Delhi, and now helps set this groundbreaking legislative step into motion. He has since worked with Foster Care Society, and serves in director’s roles at Children’s Emergency Relief International and the International Foster Care Organization, collaborating with the Indian and Sri Lankan governments.
Reimagining Foster Care
Although foster care is a concept most people in India are still wary of and uncomfortable with, Forber-Pratt has no doubt that it will one day gain acceptance.
“It’s only a matter of time, examples, and exposure to the concept of foster care before the fundamentally loving nature of India families expands to embracing the idea of fostering,” Forber-Pratt said.
“This being said, as we see in the United States, foster care can easily become a broken or challenged option for children,” he continued. “In India, we are trying to learn from the triumphs and mistakes of the western system and build a foster care system slowly from the ground up in a culturally sensitive, appropriate ,and dynamic way.”
Natick residents can support the work Forber-Pratt is doing in India through Friends of Foster Care India (FFCI), a Natick-based charity. FCCI accepts donations online or by check.
The organization is seeking a lawyer, social worker, organizational development expert, and a fundraiser for their board, so that they can better support the foster care work being done in Udaipur.
For more information about Friends of Foster Care India, visit www.fcifriends.org.
Issue Date:
September, 2017
Article Body: