Strong, emotionally charged terms like "sacrifice", "motherly love" or "maternal instinct" have always been used when speaking of the attributes required to be an SOS Mother.
No other profession at SOS Children's Villages has been more under the spotlight, no other has ever been mysticised and idealised as much as the SOS Mother's. Today, along with a change in the perception of male and female role models the image of the SOS Mother is changing as well. Key slogans such as the "vocation" of women are increasingly replaced by "occupation" and giving the profession of SOS Mother the appropriate "professional attributes" has become an important objective in the training of SOS Mothers.
The SOS Mother is the key figure. The organisation stands or falls by her. "What, then, are the conditions women find at SOS Children's Villages?", "What kind of assistance do they need in their work and what kind of support is provided?" and "What does the prevailing image of women and mothers in your culture look like?" These were just a few of the questions we put to our contributors from four different continents, in the attempt to give readers at least a glimpse of the tremendous variety in the ways the professional image of the SOS Mother is perceived.