The mothers in SOS Children's Village are 25-35 years old, unmarried or divorced, childless and have a college degree or higher.

Once a mother decides to get married, she must resign and leave the Children's Village, Ma said.

25 years in China

This year marked the 60th anniversary of the SOS Children's Village organization. In 1949, Hermann Gmeiner, an Austrian philanthropist, built the first village in Austria to provide orphaned and abandoned children with an environment that was as close to a family as possible. Today SOS Children's Villages provide help to needy children and families in 132 countries and territories around the world.

Since the charity entered China in 1984, 10 villages have been built in Tianjin, Yantai, Qiqihar, Nanchang, Kaifeng, Chengdu, Putian, Urumqi, Lhasa and Beijing.

Living in a family with a mother is the biggest difference between the organization and an orphanage.

"SOS Children's Village challenged the traditional orphanage system," said Bai Yihua, President of the charity's China Association. "Family, as the core of the village, could provide children with a sense of belonging and protection. In families, children gradually establish their values, share responsibilities and build lifelong kin relationships."

By 2008, almost 400 staff mothers had taken care of 1,800 orphans in China, according to SOS China. From the Tianjin village alone, China's biggest, 150 orphans have started to work, 60 have established their own families and 13 percent of the total have been admitted to university, said Wang Zhenlin, head of that city's village.

Tianjin staff mothers over the age of 55 are entitled to live in a house exclusively for retired mothers.

"If I retire in the village, I will not have to worry about my life because the organization has promised to provide complete social security for me," said Ma.

The Chinese Government has emphasized the importance of the development and welfare of orphaned and disabled children and is committed to providing good conditions for them, said Kang Peng, Director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Department of International Cooperation, during the Beijing village opening ceremony.

"In the future, more support will be given for SOS Children's Villages," he said.