Those are just two of the words to describe mothers like Katarina (shown below). Katarina lives in a remote area of Guatemala with her husband and seven children. Despite the rain water that floods her humble brick and bamboo home during storms and a regular diet of plain tortillas, Katarina works tirelessly to care for her children and give them a better future.
We meet mothers like this all over the world.
Walking to the clinic at the break of dawn. Saving money to pay the utility bill. Mothers everywhere face their day-to-day challenges with the same determination to make their families’ lives the best they can be each day while building a strong foundation for a better future.
For one young mother in Malawi, building a better life for her family actually meant building her own home, brick-by-handmade-brick.
Necessity is the mother of invention. And mothers can be particularly inventive about finding solutions using the resources at hand. This mom in Bolivia created a handmade playpen for her son out of branches.
No matter where they live, transforming their houses into warm and loving homes is an art that mothers excel at.
Moms have a seemingly innate ability to bring happiness and warmth into the most difficult situations.
For all too many mothers, life can be far from easy. In Peru, we’ve met moms at extremely isolated villages, who must hike the rolling hills of the Andes to access most health services for them and their children. Sometimes a mom must start her journey as early as 3am to make it back home before night fall.
Despite the hardships that some mothers face in India, a smile is surprisingly easy to come by. In Calcutta, this mother greeted us with delight as we passed by her home that was decorated with freshly hand-washed clothes hanging out dry.
Because motherhood is a lifelong job, grandmothers pitch in to help. Multiple generations of Mayan women work together weaving intricate and traditional clothing that is sold to support their families.
A mother’s work is often difficult and never done, yet many moms still approach their daily chores with cheerful resolve.
From North America to Africa, mothers weather the elements to make ends meet. Here moms in New York brave freezing temperatures to receive donated food and vitamins.
In Malawi, torrents of rain are no deterrent for mothers picking up vitamins for their children.
Being a new mom can test any woman’s resolve. Finding a good spot to breastfeed can be especially challenging. A mom in the Philippines found a spot to nurse her baby in an unkempt, narrow alley, while also holding the prenatal vitamins we gave her.
Motherhood is Global.
Wherever they are, moms share a common focus: making a better life for their children. They may face very different challenges, but they handle them with the same dignity and courage, grace and grit — joined by an extraordinary bond. It makes for a small world indeed.
Donate today in honor of whomever you call mom, and follow Vitamin Angels on Facebook to see more stories and photos of mothers facing challenges around the world.
Photography by Matt Dayka.
