All children who are taken into an SOS Children's Village live together with brothers and sisters and their SOS mother, who acts as their stable person of reference. She takes on the tasks of natural parents on their behalf, when they are no longer able to look after their children. An SOS mother is paid a salary, is given a family budget depending on the size of her family, and runs her household herself. She is assisted by a family assistant, known as an "SOS auntie" in many countries. The women who decide to take up the profession of an SOS mother are carefully selected and trained so as to create a community of well-informed and capable mothers for our villagers.
An SOS mother passes a part of herself on to the children through the relationship she builds up with each individual child. At the same time, she is a childcare professional who, by using her educational knowledge, is able to approach the children and their specific life stories. She is embedded in the community of the SOS Children's Village with her family; there she finds support and personal backing, and contributes to the village community herself. The SOS mother accompanies the children's development process, and, in doing so, works together with the village director and the other co-workers in the village.
An SOS Mother creates a family from a group of children coming from different backgrounds. Knowing something about the background of her SOS child allows an SOS Mother to better understand and appreciate the personality and behavior of the child. Over time an SOS Mother becomes familiar with the various cultures of the children in her care. Her efforts will enable her children to also have respect for those of different cultures and backgrounds regardless of the color, race, ethnic group, tribe and creed.
All SOS Mothers must prepare for their tasks through a theoretical basic training course lasting at least 3 months and follow continuous further training afterwards. Topics covered during initial training include but are not limited to:
• Environmental education
• Intercultural education - education for peace
• Health education
• Musical education
• Pedagogy
• Developmental psychology
• Special and therapeutic pedagogy
• Personality development
• Specific issues and concerns:
− Forms of violence in families
− Neglect
− Sexuality/sex education/birth control
− Sexual abuse
− The process of growing independent in children and adolescents
− Current problems of adolescents
− School problems
− The value of the biological parents' position seen through the eyes of a child
− Contacts to and co-operation with the biological parents
• Housekeeping, cookery, nutrition, care of the household
• Legal principles and state institutions for the placement of children and adolescents