|
SOS Mother
To be an SOS Mother does not just involve being a teacher. An SOS Mother shares her own life with the children entrusted to her. She lives with the children, offering them emotional security and an opportunity to develop new and lasting relationships inside the family where love is paramount. At the same time, SOS Mothers are child-care professionals who work together with other workers in the Village to meet the needs of the children. An SOS Mother is the head of her SOS family and she is directly responsible for the upbringing and development of every child. She inculcates self-sufficiency and independence in her children and ensures that the children participate in making decisions that affect their lives, guiding them to take a leading role in their own development. If it is necessary, she can be provided with expert support by other specialists working in the village.
The overwhelming majority of SOS Mothers do not have any special teacher training or qualifications. Women are primarily selected for this position on the basis of their having strong human qualities and maternal feelings. At the same time, the knowledge of certain, albeit elementary, fundamentals of teaching and child psychology, as well as the presence of skills and abilities in practical work with children, are necessary for SOS Mothers to successfully fulfil their obligations. SOS Mothers receive special professional training before and during their work in the Children’s Village
A woman accepted for this position goes through a two-year programme of initial training in order to gain a professional qualification in being an SOS Mother. The educational programme consists of three months’ theoretical child-care training and 21 months of practical on-the-job training. From then on, SOS mothers continue to participate in the training process whilst working. Every SOS-mother goes through compulsory training to improve her qualifications. Moreover yearly professional on-the-job training is held in each SOS Children’s Village.
For
more details about SOS-mothers’ work you may contact Mother Coordinator
Elena Orlova
Tel.: +7 (495) 718 99 18
+7
(495) 125 76 22
E-mail: ed-sos@redline.ru
)