Swimming has given Tiphanie a huge boost. It helped her get away from cumbersome thoughts - "When I'm swimming, I forget about all my worries", she always said. Nevertheless, she still shows great interest in life and in the development of her brothers and sisters.
Sports were also crucial in the development of her social skills. She had to deal with strangers and talk about herself. But the others, too, saw Tiphanie in a different light: Today, her personality and her performance are the centre of attention, not the fact that she is a child in care, which was the case at first.
She was given the chance to prove her worth, and this has opened up all kinds of opportunities to her. Tiphanie has gained confidence in herself as well as in her professional, social and personal future.
All sorts of new and unusual experiences await Tiphanie on her upcoming trip to China: the sheer distance, for one, the Olympic Games, and - on the sidelines of this great event - her participation in a humanitarian project. The latter is what she is looking forward to more than anything else, as it involves the setting up of rainwater collecting systems in rural areas.
Brigitte has been an SOS mother at the northernmost French SOS Children's Village in Calais since 1989. She is married and mother of a nine-year-old daughter. Just like her husband Jean-Laurent, Brigitte has a strong leaning towards sports. She teaches Judo in a club in Calais where she sometimes comes across children from the SOS Children's Village. One of the SOS children she has raised, Cédric, has become a teacher and sometimes helps Tiphanie when she needs some tutoring.