One in four families in France is single-parent, and 82% of these single-parent families were headed by women in 2022. 31% of single mothers find themselves in a situation of material or social deprivation, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) in France.
Poverty is thus affecting more and more single women with children: the “Mothers and children in vulnerable situations” project is a way for AIC France to respond to this new face of poverty. The project is supported by the Interministerial Delegation for Housing and Access to Accommodation (DIHAL) and provides in kind assistance to single women in difficult situations who are pregnant or have children aged 0 to 3.
Her wish to raise awareness within society about the new face of poverty is what motivated Florence de Laguiche to visit the AIC France offices in Paris in June 2022. The AIC France President, Mirta Vinci-Namy, spoke to her about the project for mothers and children in vulnerable situations. Drawn to the project, Florence became first a volunteer, then was appointed Project Coordinator. She tells us with great enthusiasm about the beginnings of the project, the cooperation with secondary school pupils and her desire to help mothers open up to the world.
Question: Can you tell us more about the project?
Answer: We want to improve the quality of life of mothers with young children. Specifically, the project aims:
- To welcome women and their babies to various workshops (crafts, cultural activities, etc.) and outings once a month according to their needs, while offering learning activities for the children.
- To organise festive events twice a year, for Christmas and Mother’s Day.
- To give the women access to our charity clothing stores or literacy classes offered by our team.
It’s very important that the women themselves decide on the content of the workshops, but also that each meeting includes time for shared activities between mother and baby (songs, nursery rhymes, reading, etc.). The aim is to give mothers the opportunity to share and bond with one another, to become aware of their talents, to develop their creativity, to improve their daily lives and to strengthen the bond they have with their baby. Another aim is to prepare children for their entry into school by socialising them, as it is recognised that the period from 0 to 3 years old is crucial for their development and therefore for their future.
We really want women to be active and to take control of their own lives, and the aim is for them to have confidence in themselves and their children. Through what we do together, I would like these women to open up to the world.
Mothers making a backpack for their baby, in a popular workshop that allows participants to give free rein to their creativity
Q: How do you find the mothers who benefit from the project?
A: Mirta and I visited several shelters, where we met about 15 women, and the first meeting was held in 2023 for Mother’s Day. I then met a group of five women at the “Espoir de mamans” (“Mothers’ Hope”) association. The “Marthe et Marie” association also sends women to participate in the workshops. There are currently 15 women benefiting from the project.
Q: How was the first meeting set up?
A: I was working as a social and economic sciences teacher at the La Rochefoucauld Catholic high school, and when this project came about, I involved the girls who were in their second year at this school. Then, for Mother’s Day, it was the girls in their final year who set up the meeting.
Q: Where do the meetings and workshops take place?
A: Mainly at the premises of the AIC volunteer group in Île Saint-Louis (Paris). One of the objectives of this group is to support children who have difficulties at school and their parents. In fact, we complement each other because they provide educational support for children. There are other volunteer groups that are also interested in organising this type of meeting specifically for mothers and their babies, a team from Marseille for example.
Q: What have the women who have participated thought of the experience?
A: It’s not easy to reach this target group of women in vulnerable situations, either before or after they’ve given birth. But we’ve had good feedback from mothers interested in our workshops and activities. They were also looking for this type of activities. We call each other by our first names, which has created a bond between the mothers, the babies and the volunteers. It’s a real pleasure to meet one another.
Activity programme and Mother’s Day 2025 poster
Some thoughts from project beneficiaries
“I thought museums were not for us”
– A mother visiting the Bourdelle Museum“I loved making something useful (a child’s backpack) and decorative for my daughter”
“What a joy to see our children pampered by young people!”
– Mothers taking part in a Mother’s Day celebration in June 2024
Submitted by: Lisette Maillet
No comments yet.