Source: TEDx event Presenter Satwinder Sandhu Originally published 14 February 2018
Children’s social work expert Satwinder Sandhu has made a positive difference to hundreds of children, young people and families. In this TEDx Talk he asks “Why don’t we start spreading kindness?”
“Foster carer’s do what many of us cannot – they open their doors to their homes, and they let children who they barely know come and make life with them … they simply get on with the task of dealing with what the children bring – not in their suitcases of course, but in their hearts and their minds.”
– Satwinder Sandhu
We have pulled a few points from Satwinder’s TEDx excellent presentation but encourage you to watch in full and to spread the kindness!
“Foster carer’s tell me that what keeps them going are the achievements that they see in the children that they’re caring for.
“Without some positives it’s very hard to do any kind of job, so a child who gives them a spontaneous hug can be amazing especially when that same child had previously been too scared to come near them.
“It’s really difficult for foster carer’s to do this on their own. That’s where I think we need to rethink how we support anybody that’s helping vulnerable children… when I say anybody I also mean the
“We need to start thinking differently…
“Why don’t we start spreading kindness to children who are vulnerable, and I mean that as a group, not as individuals. It is something we need to do as a society.
“What I’m really talking about is getting to the core of their issues and helping them with simple actions. If you help a vulnerable child, they’ll be able to help themselves eventually and perhaps after that they’ll go on to help others
It’s what Satwinder calls “paying it forward” by creating a “momentum of kindness”. He asks us to think about a gesture of kindness we did spontaneously and to then think about how it made you feel afterwards.
“It’s simply another way of offering help and support, and I’ll let you into a little secret. One thing that I’ve heard repeatedly from children, particularly vulnerable children is that just having one caring adult in their life – doesn’t matter who it is, makes a huge difference to them. It changes how they feel about themselves, it changes how they see their future, so there’s absolutely nothing stopping us from getting involved with a child and helping them…
And the impact? “Immeasurable” says Satwinder.
Thank you Satwinder Sandhu and to each and every person out there who is taking a moment to share an act of kindness every single day.
And while we’re here, have a read of Afia Choudhury’s beautiful story ‘I have fostered 27 children and every single one has become part of my family’
niromp.org 