A warm home and freshly cooked lunch are waiting for children at Hermann Gmeiner 21 in the SOS Children’s Village. Hardworking mother Medina Melica is taking care of seven children and welcoming them after school.
She applied to education for SOS mother seven years ago, during which she had to show her skills and abilities, as well as willingness to devote her life to children.
A mother of two herself decided to devote her life to children who needed mother’s love.
“I’ve always loved children and when they got all grown up, I realized that I want more children and I wish to give my contribution to their education. The role of the SOS mother is same as any other mother who has a family and takes care of her children. At first, I worked as an SOS aunt, I was visiting all houses in the village, helped other mothers to take care of their children, cooked, and then I got a house and four children that I should take care of,” explained Melica.
“The first four children were from one biological family, and new three were also from one biological family, brothers and sisters. Recently, one of the girls, the oldest one, moved to live in the home for young people, and we got a baby who is now 17 months old,” said mother Medina.
“I organized myself so that we don’t have any difficulties, we have a rhythm that changes only in case of a disease. The hardest thing to us is when someone gets ill, we do not sleep when they have a fever, when their belly hurts, etc. I did not give birth to them, but I love them as if they were my own,” she explained.
They go through all phases of life together. Mothers usually come while they are still small, so they learn all they need, and their mothers prepare them for life to become good people and to be independent.
“This way of life is fulfilling me, it makes me happy and satisfied. When I’m free that one day, either they call me or I call them, we are always in touch. Children call my mom “grandma”, my sister “aunt”, and they often come to visit us. Mothers, a total of 15 of them in this village, hang out, as well as children,” said Medina.
(Source: faktor.ba)
