The Mother's Heart

Providing homes for children

This article was written for Summer Camp 2024. Therefore it is unpolished and lacking formatting and information. Feel free to comment with any questions or requests for clarification.

The Mother's Heart is a religious charity based in the country of Caillah, created by followers of the Faith and named after their goddess, the Mother. They own a number of orphanages across the country, which have been set up specifically to take in orphans of the Koushan Mai, especially those whose parents have been executed for practicing the banned religion.
The children are fed, clothed, and given a warm safe place to sleep. They are taught the tenets of the Faith through daily religious instruction in both the mornings and evenings. During the day, they are expected to attend schooling for several hours, and then to work. They are taught both reading and arithmatic, but not to write, as that is not considered an essential skill for the poor. After lunch, the girls work mending clothes or making buttons, whilst the boys are taken to sweep chimneys, or even to dig holes just to keep their hands busy. Some boys who take to the teachings of the Faith well are groomed to enter the priesthood, though being of Koushan Mai descent they are never allowed to progress past the lowest rank.

Children are expected to leave when they are fifteen. Boys are usually passed into an apprenticeship for a trade or into the priesthood, whilst girls are passed into domestic service.