Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso Fan

"I have been in foster care since I was 7 years old.  When I first got into the foster system, I never spoke to anyone I didn’t know because everybody that came on my case would always come and go.  Some people that I did talk to and get close with stayed for a period of time, but then when I let my shield down they end up leaving.  So even now still I don’t get close to my social workers, GAL, or case manager because they come and go and I normally stay to myself.  As I have grown I am breaking out of that habit.

Since I’ve been living with the parents I live with now, I’ve been going to this program called FAN (Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso).  It means a safe environment.  And it is a place where you can meet new people that are like your second family.  You get help with your homework or anything that you’re working on, play activities with the other kids, get snack, and basically have a good time outside of your home and school.  I’ve been enrolled in this program since I was 12 and they are like a second family to me.  Now that I am a senior in high school they are helping me with my life after high school such as: finding a college or something good after high school, help me find a job, or help me with my SAT prep and things of that nature.  FAN is a great organization to be in while in high school or in a foster home because all the people there are very nice and they communicate very well with the children."

FAN Participant, Age 17

Since the start of the economic downturn, the number of Washington DC children at risk for entering foster care has grown by 61%.  Most of the young people who are entering the system are teenagers, who face separation from family, school, neighborhood, and the home that they’ve known for a lifetime.

FAN’s goal is to bring a Positive Youth Development perspective to Washington DC youth in foster care.  Positive Youth Development programs seek to provide young people with formal and informal opportunities to nurture their interests and talents, as well as acquire new skills, all while gaining a sense of personal and group recognition in an atmosphere of hope.  FAN offers a daily after school and summer youth development program to teens in foster care that incorporates academic support, extracurricular instruction, community service, leadership development, and college and career preparation.  Perhaps more importantly, FAN has been “home” and “family” for the young people that we serve for the last six years, for many offering the most consistent home and family that they have known.   

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