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Sharing the Value of Family
A House manager shows her motherly nature
I think the House manager is almost a mother for the families. When a family isn’t sure where to turn, I help show them the way.
— Maya Saito, House manager
As a mother who experienced a child’s illness and as a nurse, Maya Saito (right) can relate to guests at the Ronald McDonald House in Tochigi, Japan.
Maya Saito is both a mother and a nurse. And through her experiences in both roles, she is all too familiar with the road families travel when they stop at Ronald McDonald House in Tochigi, Japan. Maya knows because she walked the same path and is the House manager.
Maya’s daughter Maria was born with a serious heart condition and had cardiac surgery only days after being born. For four weeks, Maya slept on a cot next to her daughter in the hospital, miles from home. Maya’s husband made the trip back-and-forth from the hospital, and the couple’s eldest daughter remained at home with her grandmother.
“Maria is a healthy 8-year-old now,” Maya says. “Although there were so many dark days while Maria was sick, there were also good things that came out of it. My daughter’s illness deepened the relationship with my family. We went through a hard time together, and we learned the value of family.”
Familiarity Makes Perfect Fit
As a nurse, Maya was in charge of the pediatric unit at Jichi Medical University Hospital in Tochigi for 11 years. She knows how to navigate the often-confusing health system, how to advocate for patients and families, and what families go through when their child is hospitalized.
When RMHC Japan opened its fifth Ronald McDonald House in September 2006, in Tochigi, Maya knew it was where she belonged. As a mother who experienced a child’s illness and as a seasoned health professional, working at the Ronald McDonald House was the perfect fit, so she switched jobs. “I want to help support families because I know they are lonely, frightened and enduring the most difficult journey of their lives,” she says.
With the help of more than 150 volunteers, Maya tries to provide families the warmth of home. She manages the Ronald McDonald House so it is a relaxing, comfortable retreat from the hospital. “I think the House manager is almost a mother for the families,” Maya says. “When a family isn’t sure where to turn, I help show them the way.”
Maya shares her love and caring nature with guests at the Ronald McDonald House in Tochigi. Her firsthand experience as a mother of an ill child helps her relate to families on a very personal level.
A Ronald McDonald House isn’t just a place near the hospital where families can sleep and eat. “The House provides the families with the physical and emotional support they need to be strong for their child,” Maya says. “In turn, it is through the support of their families that children can recover from their illnesses.”
Local RMHC Chapters rely heavily on support from communities all around the globe. Learn how you can help children and their families by making a donation.
