An SOS mother from Children's Village Arusha, Tanzania buying peas in…
To go with this photograph of a mother I have been finding out about some less fortunate families who were helped by the SOS Social Centre Arusha.
- Lisa
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An SOS mother from Children's Village Arusha, Tanzania buying peas in the market.
To go with this photograph of a mother I have been finding out about some less fortunate families who were helped by the SOS Social Centre Arusha.
The family support programme in Arusha was broken into by some young boys who took some food. The reason they took eggs, butter, jam, and milk because their families were in financial trouble and couldn't afford food. The boys were invited to attend the social center after school where they could play games with other children and receive a good meal.
The boy's parents, guardians, and the boys themselves met with the social center staff who helped them with school fees, uniforms and some food. Now the boy's attend school regularly, unlike before when they hardly went to school at all.
It was a lovely sound to hear, for the first time, the laughter of these boys as they played with other children their own age at the social center playground.
While the Arusha family support programme has not solved all the problems in these boys and their families lives, it has given them some direction and hope. SOS Children's Villages has given these boys an opportunity to change their lives and escape from a life of crime.
- Mary
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A portrait of a woman preparing a meal at Children's Village Ziguinchor, Senegal.
Maguette N'Dour was born on the 5th of June 1949 in Senegal. She is an SOS mother and this is an interview with her about her life and motivations for making a family for children without one.
My name is Maguette N'Dour. After primary school I went to secondary school and then to a school for home economics. You normally complete this school after three years with a qualified trade, but after I had done two years the school was closed down because the state didn't recognise it. I wasn't able to finish my training. I got married when I was sixteen. After the wedding I went on a two-year course to train as a secretary but I was never able to find a job.
How old were you when you had your first child? It was one year after we got married and I was seventeen. It was a girl. She's thirty-six now and the youngest is eleven. Two of my children are married; one lives with his brother in Dakar and five are living here with my family; that is, with my mothers and my sister. My married daughter has taken in one of her sisters to help out. It is the size of my family and the fact that they all help each other which allows me to work here and to fulfill this task.
Does your family come to visit you in the SOS Children's Village? Yes, they come here a lot, mostly on Sunday afternoons. I also go to my family on the five days off I have a month and am with my own children then. My children get on well with the children in my SOS family. They go to the same school and often play together. The youngest two are just like brothers. They are almost the same age.
Is there anybody in your family to whom you are particularly close? My mother and my sister. My sister is a seamstress here in the SOS Children's Village and at the same time she's my good friend. We are always together when I have time off. My own children live with her.
When you talk about your family, who does that include? Parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and the children who live in the house.
How did you become an SOS mother?
The SOS mother in this house was retiring. The village director chose me, from amongst all the SOS aunts, to be her replacement. I thanked God and was happy. I loved my work as an SOS aunt and the children too. They were all children who hadn't had the good fortune to be able to live with their parents.
How did your family take the news that you were to become an SOS aunt and then an SOS mother? Of course, the family was happy that I was going to be an SOS aunt here. Then, when after all those years I became an SOS mother, they were over the moon. One of my cousins bought me an alarm clock because an SOS mother has to get up early.
If you think back on your years in the SOS Children's Village, can you remember a particularly special experience?
The thing that I remember best is the first time I took part in an SOS mothers forum. All the SOS mothers from Senegal were gathered there and when I plucked up enough courage to speak for the first time, my voice was shaking because I wasn't used to speaking in front of so many people. Over the years I have got used to it and have gained confidence. All in all, that meeting was a wonderful experience and a great chance to swap ideas with other SOS mothers.
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