Meet Samba

Samba was inspired by his Dad to try working in a children’s home, and he loves helping children and young people build trusting relationships, sometimes for the first time in their lives.

How did you start working in a children’s home?

I started working in a children’s home because of my dad. He inspired me to come here and get a feel for what it’s like to work here. My Dad had worked here before, he told me about the children and I was really invested in it and thought it might be a good workplace for me too.

What’s the experience like?

When I started, it was a challenge of course, as I’ve never really worked in this kind of workplace, but over time with guidance and senior staff showing me what the work was about, I started to get more confident in my role.

The needs the children have vary of course, from anger problems to autism, it’s a wide field really, you can work with children with every sort of need.

Their backgrounds are very different too obviously. There is often some confidential information that we can’t know, but when the children open up to you and tell you where they’ve come from you really get insight into their personal life. It’s rewarding to see that they trust you with that information.

Trust is huge. When I first started I couldn’t get anything out of the children really, but as you work to build that relationship they start to open up and talk to you about their feelings and what they’ve been through.

What’s kind of things do you do in a day?

A typical day in the children’s home is usually about keeping things action-packed, trying to get the kids out of the house if the weather’s ok for it, doing fun activities, drawing, playing football in the garden, going for walks – whatever we can do.

We try to make this feel as a normal home, we don’t want the children to feel like they’re any different. We want the house to feel natural and let the children experience it as if it were their own house.

What’s the most challenging part of the job for you?

The most challenging part of the job I would say is building that trust really, it takes a long time, because you want the children to really be able to talk to you on a personal level, and really open up to you. Building that trust and getting them to engage with you, that’s probably the most tough part.

What’s the most rewarding?

The most rewarding part for me is seeing the children grow, and changing their habits such as behvaiours. You see that as you’re building relationship with them, how they’re trying to better themselves, be more positive and have more positive behaviour. It’s a reward to see them move on and make progress.

It’s such a reward to work here really, you want to see the children’ progress and really make a positive impact on their lives. We guide them to the right path- that’s exactly what it is. We want to see them progress and do well for themselves.

Is there a child you’ve worked with that has meant a lot to you?

Yeah! I miss him. He’s moved on now from here, it was really sad but at the same time I’m happy for him as he’s gone on to that next level. That’s the process and what we want him to do. So it’s also really nice to see him move on.

What’s your message to other’s considering a career in residential childcare?

It’s tough at the start, but once you get a hold of the job, you see how rewarding it is to work with these children because you build a special bond, like a relationship. It’s really nice to work with them and see them progress. So if you want to have a positive impact on children, see them progress and do a good thing for the world, you should come and work here.