Editor's Note: Action Against Hunger believes that every child – regardless of where he or she is born – should have adequate nutrition and as few obstacles as possible in their path to reaching their full potential. This article is part of our Healthy Moms, Healthy Kids series, celebrating Mother's Day by highlighting the strength of mothers around the world. Watch for more stories throughout May.

We start our series by introducing you to 76-year-old Marie Sesay, who is known by her neighbors as Mama Marie. She lives in the "Sunshine Community" in the western part of the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Marie successfully raised four children, who are now adults, and now also has 18 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren, none of whom live with her. Even though at her age, she could have easily decided to relax and take care of herself, Marie had more to give. She decided to take in five children from her community: two teenagers, a seven-year old, a four-year old, and a nine-month-old baby.  These children were either orphaned or abandoned, and had no one to care for them. (Sierra Leone has the world's highest rate of maternal mortality, and an estimated one in five children in the country die before reaching the age of five.)

Marie Sesay's story, in her own words

I am a lead mother, one of the mothers trained by Action Against Hunger to raise awareness about maternal nutrition and infant and young child feeding practices among women and mothers in my community.

I belong to an Action Against Hunger support group of ten women that are all mothers or grandmothers. Three of the members of my group were pregnant at the time the group was set up. We meet every Sunday and discuss topics around maternal nutrition, feeding practices, good hygiene, and the importance of seeking prompt and frequent health care for our children and grandchildren. 
 
One of the kids living with me now, Lizzy, who is four, was brought to me by a healthcare worker when she was 18 months old. She suffered from severe acute malnutrition. Lizzy was abandoned by her mother when she was about 15 months old, and three months later, was abandoned by her father at the health post., He believed she was about to die.

 
Marie with the five children she has taken in, along with some friends from their neighborhood. Photo: J. Sankoh for ACF-Sierra Leone

I had a good relationship with the health workers, so they asked me to keep Lizzy with me during her treatment for malnutrition. It was really difficult at the start. At 18 months, Lizzy couldn’t even sit up, let alone walk. Most people thought she would not live, and others thought, "Even if she does, she won’t walk," because of the way her feet looked. Today, Lizzy looks really healthy. Looking at her now, you would not recognize her if you had seen her then.

Lizzy’s father was extremely happy when a year later he saw her completely changed, but he decided to leave her with me. He told me I have the "miracle hands that Lizzy needs."

Owing to my age, the number of years I have spent within the community, and my role as lead mother, I command a lot of respect in the community. I have become a kind of resource for maternal health and child nutrition counseling and management in the community. During the day, as I take my normal walk around the area, I also take time to observe the children and mothers and refer them to the health center if I notice any major issue that may need attention. 

The experience I have had with Lizzy is a true success for me as a lead mother -- and for Action Against Hunger’s intention of implementing this project with the other lead mothers they support. Now my home has become a sort of care center for the community. If you come around during the day, you will sometimes see up to ten children left here by their parents, and I look after them as the parents go about their daily livelihood activities.

My only concern is that now that I am getting old, I don’t trade or farm anymore as I used to. With support, my dream would be to establish and run a daycare and counselling center to better serve my community.

Action Against Hunger has been working in Sierra Leone since 1991, with integrated programs to help communities build resilience to hunger and achieve self sufficiency.