Meet The Mother Of 23 Kids Who Enjoys Her Life While Bringing Them Up With Utmost Ease
52-year-old Manju Bala Panda has mothered 23 children. She was in her thirties when she signed up with the non-profit SOS Children&rsquos Villages. She no longer finds motherhood challenging merely rewarding.
While most people think one child is a handful, 52-year-old Manju Bala Panda has mothered 23. She was in her thirties when she signed up with the non-profit SOS Children¡¯s Villages as a foster mother, and was given the task of caring for 8-10 kids at a time.
¡°At first, I used to worry about how I would care for 10 kids, get them ready, pack 10 tiffins every morning, and rig up meals,¡± she admits.
Twenty-two years in, she no longer finds motherhood challenging, merely rewarding.
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¡°My children are my life. I share in their happiness and pain,¡± says Manju, who runs a colourful four-bedroom home in Greenfields, a SOS village in Faridabad.
She proudly shows off a Mother¡¯s Day card from her college-going son who won¡¯t be able to spend the day with her. On the card is a house with windows that open to reveal the words,¡°Happy Mother¡¯s Day, Mom. I love you.¡±
There are certain challenges to fostering, due to the varied backgrounds and experiences that the parentless children may have had before being placed in her care. ¡°I have to give more attention to the troubled ones but the other kids understand and say, ¡®It¡¯s okay, mummy. Give him more time¡¯.¡± She believes in the more gentle approach of talking through things, rather than using anger to improve behaviour. ¡°That way, they actually learn,¡± says Manju, who has chosen to stay single.
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While she cites her mother as her primary influence, she does admit to certain differences in parenting styles.
¡°The changes come when your goals for your children are different. I want my kids to grow up to be someone. The way I was raised was different¡ªit was to be a good wife and mother.¡± Many of her kids have successful careers, among them a manager of a five-star hotel and an airline stewardess.
¡°I want my kids to do well in life. I feel so proud when my daughters start to earn the same amount as their husbands.¡±
The life of a foster mother is one of change, where Manju herself is the only constant.
¡°It is emotional when they leave, but they never really leave. When they¡¯re in college, they come see me all the time.¡± A grandmother of 13, she often visits her kids who live across the country.
As her current set of eight kids, between the ages of 7 and 17, return home from school, they ponder over their favourite thing about their mother. The consensus: her generosity and selflessness is second only to her delicious chowmein.
