Megan: You grew up without a Mum and Dad to care for you. You had to live with several other families over the years. What was it like being a foster child?
Georgie: It was the only thing I really knew. I knew from a small age that my Mum and Dad couldn't care for me. They wanted the best for me so they put me somewhere they knew I would be looked after and get the things they knew they wouldn't be able to give to me.

Megan: Did you feel different not having a Mum and Dad?
Georgie: Hell yeah. I knew I was unique, different from other kids. I felt outta place and always aware that other kids thought I was different with not having a Mum or Dad like they did.

Megan: How often did Mum or Dad have contact with you?
Georgie: Between the ages of four to seven I saw Mum regularly (sporadic weekends) and then I didn't see her again until I was fourteen. I have not seen my Dad since I was about three. I am now about to turn 21 and I am today meeting my Mum for the first time in seven years.

Megan: Tell me what that's like for you after such a long time.
Georgie: I am as nervous as hell. Last time I saw Mum I was only a kid and seven years is a long time. I'm now an adult. I feel sorry for Mum but her past life is not the life I want to lead. I'm not angry at her but I am disappointed that it's taken her twenty years to get to know her own daughter.

Megan: What would make things right between you and Mum?
Georgie: It's not about making things right between us, it's about Mum making an effort to know who I am, what makes me tick and the hurt I have suffered. I want her to want to get to know me. I really want to get to know her but it is more important for her to want to know me. She has to make the effort here to make up for all that I've lost out on.

Megan: What do you think your emotions will be like when you meet Mum today?
Georgie: I think I'll turn into the little girl that's been lost inside for so long, the little girl that has been wanting to be with her Mum.

Megan: Have you got support today as you re meet your Mum after seven years?
Georgie: Yeah, one of my ex foster carers is coming with me. I still live with her, even though I'm no longer a kid in care. She's met my Mum. She helped to find and get my Mum up to meet my brother and I seven years ago.

Megan: You are a remarkable young woman; strong, sensible, good work ethic. You have done it yourself. What is it in you that has helped to keep you so focused?
Georgie: I've been lucky that I've had my family (Aunt and Uncle) to help me be the person I am. Having some family around gave me a sense of who I am, where I came from and that I had an alternate way to live life.

Megan: Do you have a message to give to other foster carers?
Georgie: Family is the most important aspect of everybody's life. Even if some parents are incapable of looking after their children, the kids still have a right to know where they came from. Blood is thicker than water. Helping the foster kids to somehow stay in touch with their family is important for healing all the hurt that kids in care suffer with. Sometimes it may be a positive, sometimes negative, but kids have the right to know who they belong to. I want to belong in a family - my family, even if they can't look after me.

Megan: Do you have a message for foster kids, kids like you who grew up in out of home care?
Georgie: At times it may seem like you have been abandoned but a positive way of thinking around your situation is that parents aren't doing this because they don't want you. They want a better life for you that they just can't give. You can make your time in care an experience of learning to make your life with your own future family better or you can stay as a buggered up kid in care that nobody loves, nobody wants and so start the whole cycle of abandonment over again. You have two roads to choose: the nice, straight one or the bumpy, windy, steep one. Life is about decision making. Start by trying to make the right decisions to make life a little easier.