IMOW - How I Became a Loving Mother

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How I Became a Loving Mother
Hayriye İpin

Turkey

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

I am a child of a broken home. I was never allowed to be a child or a young girl because I spent my life acting as the family breadwinner.

After the birth of my third child, I separated from my husband. I received no support from family or friends. While my my ex-husband continued to harass me I would take out my frustrations on my children. I would beat them if they sat or if they walked. It was as if they were guilty for all the bad things in my life.

But then one evening,I got a phonecall from a woman holding training sessions for mothers through the coordination of Güzelbahçe Public Education Center and the Mother-Child Education Foundation. She hoped that I would I attend the training. Initially I was angry at the audacity of this woman to suggest that I didn't know how to take care of my children! But later on a recommendation from a friend, I decided to give it a try.

If someone had told me that on my first day in the program my life would change forever, that I would get to know myself and understand what a mother should be, and that I would learn how to manage my life in such a short period of time, I would have laughed in their face. But it really turned out to be just like that. When I arrived, a smiling face and a pair of sparkling eyes welcomed me at the door. For the first time in my life, someone greeted me with love.
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