For years, UAE foster mothers navigated some of their biggest parenting challenges alone—from hospital visits where children without identity cards faced administrative hurdles to legal questions around custody, residency and even deciding what foster children should be called.
Now, with the recent licensing of the UAE’s first Foster Families Society, mothers who once fought those battles privately are turning personal struggles into institutional reform.
Officially licensed as a non-profit public benefit organisation under the Ministry of Community Empowerment and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the society aims to support foster families, protect the rights of children without parental care and strengthen foster care culture across the country, according to its organisational profile.
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“We didn’t build this from theory; we built it from what we lived,” said Hoda Al Mashjari, a founding member and vice chair of the society’s board.
Al Mashjari said the board has divided its work into five specialised teams covering awareness, partnerships, legal and psychological support, research, and events—mirroring the society’s official organisational framework.
“In just three months, we’ve already started legal consultations, awareness campaigns and meetings with government entities,” she said.
Among the issues now being studied is the language used to describe foster children. Al Mashjari said members are exploring alternatives to the Arabic term “majhool al nasab” (of unknown parentage), which many foster families feel carries unnecessary stigma.
“We say our biological children came from the womb, but these children came from the heart, so we are considering introducing the term ‘heartological child’,” she said.
The society is also in talks with government and healthcare stakeholders to address a challenge many foster parents know too well: children receiving health insurance cards but still facing difficulties accessing treatment before official identity documentation is completed.
“One child may have full insurance, but hospitals still ask for Emirates ID,” she said. “We want systems to recognise these children immediately.” The society’s profile outlines nine strategic goals, including raising public awareness, conducting research, building partnerships and strengthening psychological support for foster children and families.
Al Mashjari said interest has surged since the society’s official launch, with foster families and prospective foster parents reaching out through social media for support, legal advice and membership. “Families have been waiting for something like this,” she said. “Now they finally have a place that understands exactly what they are going through.”
Source: Khaleej Times