Foster mother to be made MBE after years of care for children

Amanda Piper, aged 56 from Beccles, has been invited to attend a special ceremony on February 1 at Buckingham Palace having dedicated much of her life to helping young people in the community.

For around 30 years she has been a foster mother for children who are severely disabled, a duty which requires constant care, supervision and regular trips to hospital.

The children are with Mrs Piper on a long-term basis and she now has four adopted children, all of which have special needs.

Although the majority of people perhaps wouldn’t consider fostering, Mrs Piper emphasised it was something she grew used to during her upbringing.

“My parents fostered children from when I was 10-years-old, so I saw it as normal,” she said.

“Then, whilst doing a pre-nursing course at college, I went to a special needs school for a work placement and I suppose that’s where my interest in caring for children with additional needs began.”

Despite looking forward to her trip to the palace next month, she remains incredibly modest about the nature of her daily life.

“I don’t have the time work and there’s certainly not a lot of ‘me time’, especially as I lost my husband a few years ago so I’m now on my own with the children,” she said.

“I really do enjoy doing it, but I’m not the only one and lots of other people do it too.

“I’m very happy to be made an MBE but all carers deserve recognition for what they do.”

Mrs Piper’s brother, Matthew Hewitt, expressed how proud her family is of her unrelenting work rate and positive attitude.

“Mandi honestly works so hard and there’s no way I could do what she does,” said Mr Hewitt.

“A lot of the children can’t move themselves, but she carts them off to hospital and never grumbles or complains about anything.

“Her achievements are especially impressive because, on top of everything else, she had to contend with the loss of her husband a few years ago. She really is an absolute inspiration.”