Filipina nurse Marites Rufo is 'mama' to the abandoned children of Dubai's Family Village
The Filipina nurse, who grew up in Capiz and has been in the UAE for 17 years, looks after 30 children who were abandoned as infants at Dubai's Family Village, a facility that coordinates with the Philippine Consulate General on repatriation cases.
Marites Rufo, a 49-year-old Filipina nurse who grew up in Capiz, says one of the most meaningful parts of her work at Dubai's Family Village is hearing a child call her "mama." "They are more than patients; they are my children, my family," she told Gulf News.
Family Village, a residential orphanage in Al Warqa under the Dubai Health Authority operating in coordination with the Community Development Authority, cares for 30 children who were abandoned as infants, GMA News reported. Almost half of them are now in high school, Rufo said, and the UAE government shoulders all expenses, including board, lodging and education.
From paediatric ward to Family Village
Rufo grew up in a poor family with five siblings and worked as a household helper while studying nursing. In 2009 she started at Latifa Hospital in Dubai as a staff nurse in the paediatric isolation unit, and after a year she was promoted to unit nurse-in-charge of the area caring for orphaned children under the hospital's care, Gulf News reported.
She told GMA News she was "hesitant, at first" because she was thinking of career growth. "But I thought about the children. They needed more than medical treatment they needed unconditional love, comfort, reassurance, hope, and someone who would never give up on them." Her duties include checking the children's health, administering medication when needed and making sure they feel safe and cared for. "At times, I'd receive a call at 1 a.m. and they'd share their problems," she recalled to GMA News.
Working with the Philippine Consulate
Over the years the facility has coordinated with the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, GMA News reported. In repatriation cases the consulate in turn works with the Migrant Workers Office, through its labour and social welfare attachés, and with the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development. Social Welfare Attaché Cherrylene Girado said one child was flown home in July this year and two were repatriated in 2025.
Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III said the partnership with the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children and the Family Village provides "critical temporary shelter and essential documentation assistance for abandoned children."
A single mother of two
Rufo is a single mother of two sons and has been in the UAE for 17 years, according to Gulf News. She has brought her eldest son to the UAE while the other finishes college back home, and she helps with a feeding programme for elementary schoolchildren in her hometown municipality.
Her recognitions, as reported by GMA News, include:
- Grand winner of the Dakilang Manggagawang Pilipino 2026, organised by Filipino-run care box logistics company Pinas Cargo
- Best Nurse 2021 in the second season of the Angel Awards
- A UAE Golden Visa
Key facts
- Marites Rufo, 49, is a Filipina nurse who grew up in Capiz and works at Family Village in Dubai.
- Family Village is a residential orphanage in Al Warqa under the Dubai Health Authority, operating in coordination with the Community Development Authority.
- Family Village cares for 30 children who were abandoned as infants, according to GMA News.
- Rufo started at Latifa Hospital in Dubai in 2009 and has been in the UAE for 17 years.
- She was named grand winner of the Dakilang Manggagawang Pilipino 2026, organised by Pinas Cargo.
Official sources
Kislap reports this story for general information only. Nothing here is immigration, legal, financial, tax, medical, employment, or other professional advice; check official sources and speak with a qualified professional before acting.