Deng Qiong has no time for marriage or romance, because she's busy being a "mother" of 12 orphans, reports Xinhua.
Deng, 45, is the mother of No. 9 family in the SOS Children's Village in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. She left her south China hometown in 2001 to join the charitable organization, which provides orphans with family care.
In each SOS Children's Village of China there are 12 to 18 families. Each family usually fosters seven to eight orphans aged below 14 with a single woman recruited to act as a mother. Deng is one such woman.
This year's Mother's Day is the 17th she has spent as a "full-time mother." For the past 17 years of her stay here, Deng has created a home for 12 parentless children, watching them grow up and leave.
"Every Mother's Day I receive different gifts from my children," Deng said. So far she has got flowers, cards, a necklace, perfume and a makeup kit, not expensive but they mean a lot.
This year she received a note saying "I love you mom" from her youngest son.
Every day she gets up at 7:30 a.m. and does not rest until 1:00 a.m. the next day. She cooks, washes, teaches, and does all a mother needs to do at home. The workload is much bigger than for ordinary housewives as she currently has five children to attend to.
She insists on celebrating all the important festivals, like Spring Festival, with her children. Sticking to this schedule, she has little time to go back home to see her own parents.
Deng says her parents have never understood her job.
A photo of Deng with her parents hangs on a wall, surrounded by photos of Deng's children.
Her friends advised her to quit, but she loves her children so much and is so touched by their love that she is determined to stay until she retires.