In Indonesia, as in many developing countries, orphanages aren’t only intended for children without parents.

Lack of knowledge about contraception and old-fashioned beliefs that favor reproduction usually means each family has at least six mouths to feed. It isn’t uncommon, therefore, for parents to leave their children at orphanages to ease their financial burden.

Farid Arifandi, who is now 32 years old, knows all too well the realities of poverty that forced him from his mother. Young Farid, together with his siblings, was sent by his paralyzed mother to the SOS Children’s Village in Cibubur, East Jakarta, where they were cared for by a foster mother.

“My father had passed away and my mother was physically unable to take care of me and my siblings. What’s great about the SOS Children’s Village is that it allowed me to have a proper childhood,” Farid said.

As he gazed at the neighborhood in which the children’s village is located, he had a smile on his face. He said he had a lot of fond memories from his time here.

For Farid, the SOS Children’s Village in Cibubur is the place he calls home — he knows everyone and everyone knows him. With cats running wild among grassland plants, daisies and lush trees, the complex is every inch the quaint environment that would evoke images of a happy childhood in a small town.

Creating a place that is safe and conducive to raising children is a priority. Children here live with a “mother and siblings” in a modest house.

At the village there are 15 family houses, a nursery school and a youth home that serves as a multifunction space for the older children.

The four-bedroom houses, with simple living-and-dining rooms and high ceilings, exude a homely ambience. At the center of the village is a pendopo, a traditional Indonesian assembly hall used for gatherings.

The Jakarta branch of the village began operating in 1983, and Anastasia Sri Wahyuni, better known as Ibu Pur, was one of the first resident mothers there. Ibu Pur has raised 27 children so far, 23 of whom have married.

“They were married in this house!” she said with delight, adding, “Some of them are businesspeople. I have one son who’s a soldier. And another one who works as a minivan driver. I’m very proud of all my children, who have given me 15 lovely grandchildren.”

The former teacher currently lives with four children who are still in school. Her routine since stepping into the SOS Children’s Village hasn’t changed much.

She wakes up at dawn to prepare breakfast, cooks in the afternoon for dinner, helps the children with their homework in the evening, listens to their problems as they watch television and reads them bedtime stories around 10 p.m.

“Looking at the children enjoying the simple food that I cook like opor ayam [braised chicken in coconut milk] and spinach soup is a tremendous joy. But knowing that I can help them enter society as useful individuals is what keeps me here,” said Ibu Pur, who is also a survivor of cancer.

She should be retired by now. But she couldn’t bear the thought of not caring for children in need. Her love for them, she said, was perhaps her biggest strength in fighting cancer.

Another veteran foster mother is Ibu Toyibah, who has raised over 20 children since 1984. The 62-year-old woman, who previously worked at a pickle company, said it never crossed her mind that she would raise children who were not her own.

“I was offered this honorable position by Pak Slamet, who was the treasurer of SOS Children’s Village Indonesia. He suggested that I go for training and courses at the SOS village in Lembang, which was the first one established in the country. I rejected the offer not once but twice. And when he came back for a third time with the same offer, I was sold,” she said with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t sure if I could raise children well. I was worried that I couldn’t provide them with the educational input they needed because I didn’t even complete my own high school education,” she said.

But she soon realized that what the kids ultimately needed was a mother who cared for them as if they were her own. For Ibu Toyibah, such affection came naturally. Ibu Toyibah still lives at the village in Jakarta, but she has now retired.

“Being a retiree means that one doesn’t take any more children under one’s care. I’m simply too old now. It’s time for me to take care of myself,” said Ibu Toyibah.

Unlike Ibu Toyibah and Ibu Pur, Ibu Rini Listiowati only served at Jakarta’s children’s village for less than a decade. With an agricultural degree from Semarang’s Farming and Agricultural Higher-Learning Institute, Ibu Rini is a vivacious woman who is taking care of eight children, aged four to 15.

“It can get very stressful,” she said matter-of-factly, “especially with the teenagers”.

According to Ibu Rini, teenagers are at a point where they often doubt a mother’s love and concern for them.

“I was a young girl once myself, so I understand the pressure of being a teenager. But in this house, discipline prevails,” said the 43-year-old, who admitted to being a big fan of the 1980s boy band Trio Libels.

“I’m not here for the children to like me. My concern as a mother is to be a role model — a loving central figure in their life who guides them toward their future. This is what I learned from other foster mothers here,” said Ibu Rini, who had a career in landscape maintenance at Ciputra Mall in Semarang prior to joining the village.

Well-educated, Ibu Rini always finds time to read books despite her busy schedule taking care of eight children. Various books donated by the public are stacked neatly in rows along three bookshelves.

“There are some books by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Arswendo Atmowiloto. There’s an autobiography by President Obama too. I thought it was important for the children to be surrounded by books, so that they can have a better understanding about the world they live in,” she said.

When asked to share some of her experiences with her children, Ibu Rini paused for a moment and gasped. She tried hard not to break down, but tears ran down her cheeks.

“I’m not big on birthdays — I don’t usually remember anybody’s birthday, including my own. But on my recent birthday, on August 20th, the children gave me a birthday card they made themselves. Attached to the card were my favorite candies,” she said.

It isn’t hard to tell that Ibu Rini is a rather strict mother. She admitted that she doesn’t compromise when it comes to house rules and discipline. But in raising the children, she emphasizes tolerance, honesty and faithfulness.

“The children that we raise here come from different cultural and religious backgrounds. It is important for us to emphasize tolerance in raising them. We also encourage the children to practice the religion they inherited from their family or culture,” said Ibu Rini. (By Willy Wilson)