For the scores of children who pass through the doors of the Annie Dawson Children’s Home in St Andrew, founder and executive director Ivlaine Nickie is simply known as “mom.”

The 71-year-old woman said in a recent interview with OBSERVER ONLINE that she has been involved with children for most of her life. When she retired in 2013, Nickie knew she wanted to help safeguard the welfare of someof the most vulnerable children in Jamaica.

“I live right here with my children. I do not head home at 4 o’clock and come back at 9 o’clock. Whether it was rushing off to Bustamante [Hospital for Children] if one was having a seizure or fever, or if one was uncomfortable or having a bad dream, they weren’t afraid to run and beat down my door,” Nickie said.

However, for Nickie, her long-standing passion for helping children stemmed from watching her parents back in St Vincent and the Grenadines, who she said have “always had lots and lots of children at our home.”

“At that time, in St Vincent and the Grenadines, there were no children’s homes when I was growing up. Since then, they have probably been about two. But they [her parents] always had lots of children, who didn’t really belong to them. They were always taking in children. And what was very outstanding with my parents was that they treated the children they took in just as they treated us, their own offspring. And they made it very clear that we were supposed to treat them as if they belonged,” she explained.

Despite being a native of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Nickie has worked and lived in Jamaica since her 22nd birthday. This country, she said, is her adopted home, with most of her work involving the welfare of children.

“I have been involved with children because of the work I did over the years. My first job was as a teacher and guidance counsellor at Emmanuel High School in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Then I moved to Jamaica and became involved in development work with several organisations, which took me all over the Caribbean and Central America. I have been chairperson of the Caribbean NGO [non-government organisation] Quality Development Centre, which is based in Barbados, and a number of other regional networks that involve children, women, the environment, and youth,” Nickie said.

Now an elderly woman, Nickie said for her, being a mother to the 27 children currently under her care means “just being there to give guidance and support and nurture them.”

“For someone who has never given birth, and some people would say ‘what does she know about mothering?’ But to me it is the giving love, the nurturing, the being there when the child [needs you], being there in the harsh times. Really just helping, not manipulating, but helping the child to chart his or her course in life and to maximise his or her potential in the best way possible,” Nickie stated, explaining that even though she doesn’t have any biological children, she has one adopted child and two others that she fostered.

Describing her relationship with her wards, Nickie said it is “excellent.”

“I can’t say that, especially in today’s day, we wouldn’t have children whose opinions were not exactly like mine, especially when they come in a little later in life… like 14 [years] or so, they are very well set in their ways. But we manage. I understand, especially since I have the social enquiry report, which helps me to understand their background and what they’ve been through. It guides me in how I handle each case based on the situation and circumstances they are coming from. So, that makes it a lot easier to have the best relationship,” she noted.

But, with everything there are challenges, and Nickie revealed that sometimes it can become overwhelming when all of the children are clamouring for her attention.

“You have to listen to it all, no matter how tired you are. I do not make it a practice of lying but one or two times I dozed, because it’s so much. And then you just feel the arm around and somebody saying ‘alright,mom’,” she said, with a small laugh.

“Everybody calls me mom, I’ve never told one of them that’s what they should call me.”

For her children, Nickie told OBSERVER ONLINE that she wants them to put God first and seize the opportunities that they have.

“Surrender your life to God and ask him to guide you. Education is very important. Whatever opportunity you have to get an education, please maximise it. And if you are one of those persons with special needs and you cannot achieve maximum academically, try at least a trade and learn it well. Don’t feel embarrassed because you cannot become a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that. If it is to clean the house, clean it to the best of your ability, and be honest so that people will trust you,” Nickie said.