By Kara Santos
MANILA, Jan 25 2011 (IPS)

It’s definitely not your typical job advertisement. “Wanted: Mothers; must be mature, strong and stable, self-confident, humorous and know how to cook; must have a positive and cheerful attitude towards life; must be willing to work as a full-time mother for the long term.”

Snapshot of a mother with her family. Credit: Kara Santos

“The motherhood profession is really what we value the most,” Maria Sara de los Santos, a social worker with SOS Manila, told IPS.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are over 1.8 million orphaned children in the Philippines aged 0-17 years.

Mothers are selected not by their diploma or certified experience but by their willingness to devote their lives to children.

Each mother lives with an average of ten children whom they raise as their own within a village of eight to 14 houses. In order to maintain family ties, biological siblings are kept within the same house.

After an initial screening and interview, potential mothers live with the children for a trial period to see if they will be a good fit.

“We really put a lot of weight on the children’s feedback. Some children tell us that they would like a woman to be their mother, while others tell us not to choose an applicant because she was mean to them in their first few days together,” says de los Santos.

Children that come to SOS often have traumatic backgrounds. Many were abandoned by their biological parents due to extreme poverty, while others were abused.

After serving as an ‘aunt’ where they help different families, successful applicants take a three-month long ‘Mother’s training’ course, where they learn lessons on personality development, elements of childcare, and household management, among others.

In exchange, mothers are provided with free board and lodging, a household allowance, and a monthly salary of Php10,000.00 (roughly 227 dollars).

According to 52-year old ‘Mama Wilma’, it’s a job where benefits are emotional rather than financial. Wilma currently takes care of nine children, aged 5-17. “I’ve always loved children and even considered becoming a nun, but my folks wanted me to take up accounting to help in the family business,” she tells IPS.

When she was only two, Wilma’s father died, forcing her mother to place her and her three siblings under the care of various relatives. She became an SOS mother by chance after she was hired as a bookkeeper and assistant at SOS Manila.

While she did her job well, she was not fulfilled with working in an office. “It’s like I was searching for something missing in my life,” she says. The village director at the time asked if she wanted to try being a mother instead and she agreed to try it out.

“The first two months were really challenging. I had a hard time budgeting for food. You know how growing boys can eat,” she laughs. “But you have to look at where they came from. They had faced so much deprivation before.”

Another challenge she faced was when the children would get sick all at the same time. “Just when my youngest was discharged from the hospital after getting dengue, three others fell sick. Those were sleepless nights,” she recalls.

Fifty-one year old ‘Mama Alma’ told IPS that one of the major challenges of being a mother is dealing with teenagers.

“By the time they turn 12, they can be really hard to handle,” she says. “They don’t really want to listen to you unlike the younger kids.”

A mother of 13, including two sets of twins, Alma wakes up every morning at 4.30 to do household chores and doesn’t sleep at night until everyone is back in bed. Formerly a seamstress before the factory she worked in closed down, she decided to give “being a mother” a shot when a friend who worked in SOS Villages recommended her.

“I never thought I would be doing this full-time,” says Alma. “But with God’s grace, I’ve lasted 13 years.

“It can be hard being a mother but it’s a great joy to see the children succeed in life,” says Alma, as she points to diplomas and pictures of her children decorating the walls of their house.

“I’m content that my children are able to graduate from school and can stand on their own,” agrees Wilma. In her 22 years of service, she has been a mother to over 30 children and a grandmother of 20.

“She has a been a true mother to each one of us even if we are not her own blood,” shares one of Wilma’s daughters Marygrace Racimo in the SOS book tribute ‘Celebrating Selfless Love.’ Racimo, who came to SOS at the age of seven when her biological mother died of tuberculosis, was able to graduate with a Pharmacy degree. “She gave us importance, support, advice and above all, love.”

Since the programme started in the country, over 1,223 kids have become fully integrated into society, with 807 children still living in the eight SOS Children’s Villages around the country. Former orphans have graduated as doctors, teachers, architects, entrepreneurs and even one as a pilot. Some have chosen to become SOS mothers themselves to continue caring for orphaned children.

For potential mothers, this is what Alma has to say: “You have to keep your mind open that this isn’t just any job. Your heart has to be in the right place, and you have to be ready to make a full-time commitment to ensure that the children have a brighter future.”

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