Niğde Provincial Director of Family and Social Services Hilal Ünal has been the foster mother of little Şerif, whom she met in children’s homes when she was an administrator at the institution in Malatya and who hugged her and called her “mother” for about 1.5 years.
The life of Hilal Ünal, who started her duty as the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services in Niğde on Monday, May 20, changed when she met Şerif, a little boy who was staying in children’s homes when she was an administrator in Malatya.
Unal, who was impressed by the fact that Şerif, whom she met during her visit to children’s homes, hugged her and called her “mom” when he was just starting to speak, decided to become a foster family after the communication between them became stronger.
After making the necessary applications, Ünal became the foster mother of 2.5-year-old Şerif and has been living with Şerif for about 1.5 years.
Ünal, who has been working at the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services for 13 years, told AA correspondent that she is always with disadvantaged people and that they mobilize all the means of the state to help them.
Stating that they go to children’s homes in times of emotional difficulties and play with the children staying there, feel their beautiful, unlimited and unconditional love and relax, Ünal said that children’s homes are almost rehabilitation centers for them.
Pointing out that she was a volunteer family in the first years of her duty, Ünal said:
“I had a daughter who was in middle school at the time. She has now graduated from university and has a job. Then we met Şerif and he came and sat on my lap. On a day when I was very depressed, he lifted a huge burden from me and gave me all his happiness and energy and sent me to work. In the following period, I started to go to all the children in Şerif’s home as a volunteer. I started to celebrate Eid. If you work in our institutions, you don’t celebrate any Eid with your own family first because your family is your service area. First you do it with your service areas, which are your real family, then you come to your biological family and continue the holiday with them because they always become the priority in your life.”
Stating that his communication with Şerif strengthened over time, Ünal said that Şerif spoke at the age of 2.5 and hugged him and called him “mom”.
Emphasizing that this situation affected him very much, Ünal said:
“My son was a very difficult child. He was a child who was not sociable and did not enjoy communicating much. In fact, I was worried when I was buying him, ‘Can I cope, I am not married and I am a single parent, we do not have a father role model, can we overcome this process comfortably’. I met with my family, I was living with my parents, I met with my sisters and nieces and nephews because I was more of a mother to them than an aunt. They all supported me in my decision and were very happy to have another cousin. At first, they also had different anxieties because all of us foster families have this anxiety, ‘What if they take the child away from us’, but the only thing I told them was, ‘What if they don’t take the child away? If that child will spend one day with me, one day, five days, five days, I should not deprive him of that happiness.’ Maybe he will stay until he is 18. Maybe he will always stay. Maybe he will be taken away from me after a year, maybe he will be able to leave when the conditions of his own family improve, but the time he spent with me will always remain happy and beautiful in his memory and I will always feel comfortable. I will be able to say, ‘Yes, I lived with my son and made him experience these beauties. At least I didn’t go through this process with a question mark.’ After this explanation, my family agreed and we started living together.”
Children never refuse unconditional love
Explaining that interviews and examinations lasting about 5 months were made as in every foster family, Ünal stated that he became Şerif’s foster family after his file was prepared.
Ünal stated that he always put himself at the center of his life before, but this situation changed after Şerif, and said the following:
“I would do whatever I felt like doing at that moment. We are four sisters and I am the youngest. The last bite on the plate was always mine. That last slice of banana, the last strawberry was always mine. After Sherif, my priorities in my life changed. I am a mother now and my priority is my son. Now that last banana, the last strawberry on the plate is always Şerif’s. Since he joined the family, my son has socialized so much that there is no trace of those first days, those first months. My son adapted in a very short time because he takes everything you give him and a child never turns down the unconditional love you give him. I used to be work-oriented in my life. My work is still very precious, but when it comes to my son, I can immediately put it on the back burner.”
Children are like medicine
Pointing out that they had a good rapport with Şerif, Ünal said that they spent quality time together in nature and camped together.
Emphasizing that he has learned a lot from Şerif and that he has touched his life, Ünal said, “We always told our families that ‘he will be like medicine for you’ and they always said ‘we will be medicine for him’. They really are medicine for us. I mean, they touch your life so well that they make you forget your negativity, your anxiety about the future, maybe your unhappiness somewhere, all of that. Are you very bored, are you very stressed, are you sitting and crying, they come and hug you and say ‘mommy, don’t cry’. This is enough for you. It is more valuable than all the support.”
Emphasizing that every child should have a home, Ünal asked the citizens to support them.
