"OPENING the front door with shaking hands, I locked eyes with the teenage refugee standing on my doorstep.

"Fifteen-year-old Mo had only been in the UK for four weeks after fleeing from his war-torn home country of Syria, and he looked more nervous than I was. He didn’t speak English, and I couldn’t speak any Arabic, so I smiled and gestured for him to come into our home.

"By that time, I’d been a foster parent for just seven months. Previously I’d worked in customer service, but I’d always been interested in fostering and my husband Steve, son Ben, then 22, and daughter Jay, 19, were really supportive.

"After completing the mandatory checks and training, I qualified in July 2013. At first we did short-term care, but that December I came across Mo’s profile.

"As a refugee with no family, he needed somewhere to live until his 18th birthday. Forced to flee his country to escape persecution from the Syrian government for being Kurdish, Mo had spent two years trying to get to the UK, travelling more than 2,000 miles on foot, then on boats, lorries and any other transport he could stow away on.

"I knew I had to help him. A few people were negative about us taking him in, asking why we weren’t helping a British child who needed foster care. But to me, a child in need is a child in need, no matter where they come from.

"Preparing for Mo’s arrival, I was apprehensive as I knew it was going to be a challenge. As well as the language barrier, I didn’t know much about his culture, so I bought a handful of Syrian cookbooks and the Quran, and did lots of research online.

"Despite my preparations, meeting Mo for the first time was nerve-wracking. With Steve at work and the kids at university, a social worker made a brief introduction before leaving us to our own devices.

"To break the ice I decided to go food shopping, and with lots of help from Google Translate Mo chose the Halal foods he enjoyed as well as some fish for dinner. He seemed very shy, but later that night as we tucked into the fish, we both burst out laughing – it was so spicy!

"As he beamed at me across the table, I knew he’d fit right in. Thankfully, he got on like a house on fire with Jay and Ben.

"As the weeks passed, Mo’s English improved dramatically. I taught him with flash cards and he started school a month after joining us, which helped a lot. Of course there were challenges – Mo often got homesick and found school tough, as he’d never had any proper education.

"He also worried about praying in case people were judgemental. But as people got to know his easy-going attitude, he made plenty of friends.

"Listening to Mo talk about the traumatic events he’d faced was extremely hard. He only had a few distant relatives left. They lived in Iraq and he wasn’t able to speak to them a lot because of the poor mobile signal there. Gradually, however, he seemed to come out of his shell. After three months, he even asked if he could call me and Steve Mum and Dad, which was so touching.

"To make Mo feel at home, we cut out pork to respect his religious beliefs and embraced parts of his culture, including taking part in Ramadan, which was incredibly difficult.

"Meanwhile, Mo loved family meals, especially chilli con carne and Sunday roasts. Over time he became an integral part of our family, joining in the festivities at Christmas and proudly watching Jay graduate from university in 2016.

"As Mo grew into a successful adult, finishing college and landing a job at a warehouse, I felt so proud of him. When he moved into his own flat this February it was bittersweet – I’d miss his sense of humour and smile, but I knew it was the right move.

"We’ve since looked after several children and have taken on the long-term care of two siblings, aged 11 and 12. Fostering can be tough, but it’s such a fulfilling job, and I’d welcome another refugee into our home in a heartbeat.

"Mo is 19 now and considers the UK his home. Recently he even took our surname by deed poll. Thankfully he lives just 10 minutes from us and still pops round for my chilli. Our home is always open to him, just as it always has been.”