According to BBC three-thousand children arrived in the UK alone last year. Many of them are migrants or refugees escaping war or devastation in their home countries. They’ve travelled thousands of miles across deserts, mountains and seas. When they get to the UK they are often tired and afraid. They are taken by immigration officers or police to a safe place where they are asked lots of questions.
This is so that the people in charge can understand how old the child is, where they have come from and what they will need to keep them healthy and safe. If the child is under 17, they are given leave to remain, which means they can stay in the UK and will be looked after until they are old enough to look after themselves.
This often means they are placed with a foster family who look after them as though they are part of their family. They can start going to a local school and they can start to make a life for themselves here in the UK.
Many of the children stay around Kent and Dover in the south of England because that is where they first arrive. In the past year Kent has placed nearly 1,000 children in homes in that area.
Ruth is one of them. She came all over from Eritrea on her own. She now goes to college and has many friends. She wants to become a nurse.
Read her story here