Frew makes it four at street sprints P24
ASHBURTON
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Monday, May 12, 2014
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Elaine ‘mother in a million’ BY SUE NEWMAN
SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
When Elaine Mowat sees a child in need she wants to open up her arms and her heart to them. And that’s exactly what she and husband Gavin have done over the past 40 odd years as foster parents to countless youngsters. Some call her a super mum, but she modestly says they’re just an ordinary couple who wanted to help provide children in need with a little bit of extra love and care. Ask Andrew Cameron. He knows the difference Elaine and Gavin made in his life. He and his sister Margaret became their foster children and went on to became permanent members of the Mowat family. Andrew nominated his mum for the Guardian’s Facebook Mother’s Day treat with this message… “I was fostered by them at 18 months old… they saved my life when I was 10 from a malignant brain tumour…there’s no other mother like her…she is a queen in anyone’s language…” Both Elaine and Gavin are from large families where there was always more than enough love to go around. “We had a wonderful upbringing. Without our parents’ stability and influence we wouldn’t
Ashburton mother in a million, Elaine Mowat with husband Gavin and son Andrew, has been foster mum to more than 130 youngsters. PHOTO JOSEPH JOHNSON 110514-JJ-0011
have been able to pass this on,” Elaine said. They were just 23 when they took in a relative’s child, then came a baby, and it snowballed. However, six years ago they called time on fostering. They had two much-loved children, Fiona and Fraser, but
knew they wanted to help children whose lives were short on love and caring. They signed on as foster parents and over the years more than 130 children became part of their family for a few days or months. Some of their children have stayed in contact, others sim-
ply wanted to move on and the Mowats always respected that wish. “To us, it means more than anything to think the children have had something of a better life. If we’ve changed one little thing in their lives we’ve achieved something and we just
want them to carry on, move on with their lives.” Sharing their parents with other people’s children has just been part of life for their children, and when Margaret and Andrew became permanently part of the Mowat family, they happily adjusted to being a family of four, Elaine said. “They coped wonderfully. They were always very accommodating and they’ve taken this with them into their adult lives. It’s made them better people today.” Without Gavin’s strong support, caring for foster children would have been impossible, she said. “He’s a wonderful, caring, supportive person and a great role model to children.” Gavin is equally modest. “We just take it all in our stride. We don’t look at ourselves as different to anyone else. It’s just good to think the children might get some stability in their lives out of the time they’ve spent with us,” he said. Today Elaine continues caring, sharing the care of her elderly mother with her two sisters. In 2004 she was named New Zealand’s Mother of the Year. The award was made by public vote and her nomination came from daughter Margaret.
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