According to Steve Fezer, “There are a lot of kids living
in circumstances most people can’t even imagine.” As a foster parent in Catholic Family Center’s (CFC) Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program, Steve speaks from experience. In January of 2006, this father of a teenage son opened their home to Theophile who was born in war-ravaged Rwanda, but lived since the age of two in a refugee camp in Uganda. Now 14 years old, Theo is an honor student at Athena Middle School and plays soccer with the Rochester Junior Rhinos. Just six months ago, Steve welcomed his second foster son, Ahmed, a young refugee from Somalia - another country ripped apart by war and genocide. Ahmed attends Monroe Community College and hopes to become a civil engineer. He describes both foster sons as “driven to succeed.”
When asked about his experience as a foster parent, Steve says, “You never know what will happen, so you can’t let fear keep you from being a parent whether it’s of a biological child or a foster child. The risks and rewards are really the same.” He says the key is being willing to share yourself and your time, noting that the rewards far outweigh the risks. “When they come to live with you, they become part of the family and when they succeed, you’re proud.”
Steve, who works as a nurse anesthetist at Strong Hospital, also noted that CFC “does everything they can to prepare you for the experience.” Sharing why he chose to become involved in CFC’s program, Steve says, “It’s about making a difference somehow, some way, even if it’s just one child at a time.”
