Where do I belong?
On 17th September 2026 we were back at KPMG in London’s Canary Wharf for yet another of the popular series of collaboration events between KPMG’s Breathe, the Department for Transport, and Journey. For this event, entitled: ‘Where Do I Belong? A Journey Through Queerness, Heritage & the Care System’, we were also joined by KPMG’s Afro-Caribbean Network (ACN) and KPMG’s Families Network as we heard from the inspirational Matthew Page as he guided us through his unique and powerful journey of self-discovery, exploring the rich intersections of his queer identity and cultural heritage. Matthew's personal story, including his appearance on BBC's DNA Family Secrets, offers a compelling lens through which to understand the complexities of identity, belonging, and self-discovery within the fostering and adoption system.
Matthew’s story began with him being found wandering the streets of Southeast London alone aged three which prompted Social Services to investigate and resulted in him and his biological brother being taken into the care system. He was fostered by a family in rural Kent who provided him the love and security that he needed while always having a question mark about the identity of his biological father and half of his heritage. He was informed – incorrectly – that his father was Jamaican but growing up in a white family in a white village he had no reference points to this heritage and experienced uncertainty about where he belonged for his entire life. Being gay exacerbated these feelings, and when reaching the edge of the ‘care cliff’ aged 18 he moved to London and found a new family in the form of the LGBTQ+ community.
He continued to build personal relationships and his career over the following years, but it was appearing on ‘DNA Family Secrets’ encouraged by his partner that changed everything. It was revealed on the programme that his father’s heritage was from the Seychelles and not the Caribbean and then following the airing of the show someone got in contact over social media claiming to be Matthew’s aunt. Matthew dismissed it at first but she was persistent and so they agreed to have DNA tests, and it transpired to be true: she is his biological father’s sister. Sadly, Matthew’s father had passed, but he was able to connect with a large new family and meet new siblings, living not too far from where he lives today. Everything fell into place for him, and he finally was able to complete a puzzle that had a huge missing piece for 50 years.
We had not one but two wonderful surprises: one of Matthew’s new-found brothers, also named Matthew, was in the audience and joined Matthew on stage to share his reflections of unexpectedly gaining a gay brother later in life and the richness and joy this had brought to both of their lives. We then moved to Q&A with many fantastic questions from the audience exploring the many intersectional themes that Matthew’s story helps to unpack. The second surprise was saved for after the presentation and Q&A where Matthew’s partner Ranzuny dropped by to support him and capped the evening by singing a song named ‘Glorious’ penned by Matthew, which will be Ranzuny's debut single. Throughout Matthew’s life, music and his creativity has been a safe space for him in the face of uncertainty and a lack of belonging: ‘Glorious’ was penned following the discovery of his father’s family and the nourishment that those relationships have brought to his life, at a point where he felt peace and that everything in his life was aligned.
Matthew’s journey prompted a transformation in other ways too: he gave up a successful career in The City to pursue a completely new direction sharing his story to promote greater understanding of identity and intersectionality and the challenges faced by people in, and after, the care system. Today he is an intersectionality and identity thought leader, speaker, and consultant. A Trustee at The Fostering Network and a care-experienced champion, He collaborates with local authority children's services and corporate clients, including NatWest, NHS, and Transport for London, on topics such as intersectionality, inclusion, inclusive language, and digital detox, all while advocating for care-experienced voices. Matthew is also a 2023 Black Legacy Award honouree.
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