It wasn’t long before Fatima’s new passion got her in to trouble. She recalls the time she accidentally threw a javelin into a glass window at the children’s home, shattering it, resulting in her getting grounded for a month. Devastated at the thought she might get banned from training if she didn’t show up, Fatima wrote a letter to Margaret explaining the situation.
‘I wrote, “Dear Mrs Whitbread, sorry I can’t come to the track, I smashed the french windows and got a month ban, but one day I want to be the best javelin thrower in the world”’, Fatima recalls.
After a tense wait, the children’s home received the call that Fatima had been waiting for. Margaret had managed to persuade staff to waive Fatima’s grounding and within a week she was back in training.
Twelve years of incredibly hard work followed before Fatima won her first major title – the European Junior Championships in 1979.
‘[Being in children’s homes] gave me an inner strength’, explains Fatima.
‘If someone said to “you can’t do that” or “you won’t amount to anything”, I wanted to show them that I could.’
Now, more than thirty years on from Olympic success, Fatima channels that same drive and ambition into her work, advocating for children’s rights. She is an ambassador for Action for Children and is currently promoting her own campaign, Fatima’s UK Campaign, calling on the government to overhaul social care in the UK.
As part of this she wants to encourage care experienced young people to use sports and art as a positive outlet, in the same way she did. She has launched The Power of Sports and The Power of Arts programmes to give care experienced young people the opportunity to try new things and gain qualifications.
‘They give care experienced young people something to focus on’, explains Fatima.
‘They can connect with their community and have a sense of belonging. It keeps them off the streets, out of harm’s way. It enables them to feel seen, heard and valued, which is really key.
‘Growing up in children’s homes was hard, and leaving care is a frightening time. However, I’ve made a reasonably good success of it and I’ve spoken to lots of care experienced people who have made a success of it too.
‘There is hope out there, and we’ve got you.’
For more information about Fatima’s UK Campaign visit www.fatimascampaign.com