Olympic medallist Fatima Whitbread visits RAF Marham to speak about career and growing up in care
RAF Marham welcomed an Olympic medallist to the station to talk about her life growing up in the care system and her athletic career.
British retired javelin thrower, Fatima Whitbread, who has also appeared in ‘I’m a Celeb’ spoke about her sporting career, Olympic medals and breaking world records.
She also talked about her time on reality shows such as ‘Come Dine with Me’ and ‘SAS Who Dares Wins’ and how these experiences taught her about being resilient.
On the day RAF Marham organised for the children and their foster parents a windshield tour of the base to learn about the history along with a visit to the latest aircraft, the F-35 Lightening.
They also got to visit the virtual reality suite to see what the aircraft looks like with the latest gadgets as well as getting to take control of the jets. All the children took part, and Fatima helped the children as well as enjoying a virtual ride herself.
A service person who attended said: “Being part of the military we are encouraged to take part in sport, it was interesting hearing about Fatima’s sporting career and how she, through her love and dedication for sport, took her on an amazing career path.
“Her passion really showed and was inspiring to listen to. I also remember watching Fatima on SAS Who Dares Wins, the resilience she showed during the program was highly commendable”.
Fatima also talked about her childhood growing up in foster care and meeting the Whitbread’s who later adopted her.
She spoke about her UK campaign and how she hopes to make positive changes to the care system and bring lasting improvements to young people’s lives, knowing they are seen, heard, and valued.
An attendee said: “I found Fatima’s story incredibly inspiring. The way she opened and was so raw and honest about her experiences in life, both positive and negative, throughout care and beyond was so compelling.
“To see her progress beyond her beginnings and still go on to achieve more than most of us could dream, was truly moving.”
Along with the medallist, Starz Fostering C.I.C, a Norfolk-based independent fostering agency, also did a presentation on how to become a foster family and explained the process step by step in collaboration with Fatima UK Campaign.
Fatima’s UK campaign is looking to improve the way the care is seen, heard, and valued. Fatima represents the care system sector and celebrates our young people and the remarkable resilience they show.
A military family said: “We have considered fostering, but with the reality of us moving around every few years we believed we would be turned down.
“But after hearing the process broken down into steps and how military families can still offer children stability and security, it has given us that reassurance we needed to move forward and consider fostering in the future.”
