Finnish mother awarded presidential honour after children secretly nominate her

A Finnish mother of four has been awarded a presidential honour for her parenting, after her children and husband secretly nominated her for the recognition. Eija Sorsa, 60, from Kouvola, will receive the medal on Mother’s Day, public broadcaster Yle reports.

“I am extremely loved,” Sorsa said upon learning of the honour, which is granted by President Alexander Stubb to 38 mothers this year for outstanding child-rearing contributions.

Her daughter Marjo described her as “mentally strong, kind, and open-minded,” adding: “Mother accepts people as they are.”

Sorsa and her husband Esko run a diversified farm, growing crops, managing forests, cultivating garlic, and operating a catering and bakery business. Despite health struggles—including a rare olfactory nerve cancer that robbed her of smell and taste, plus two other cancer diagnoses—Sorsa emphasized resilience.

“I’ve always told my children that some things can’t be changed. You don’t have to accept them, but you must learn to live with them,” she said.

The citation for her award notes she provided her children with “a stable, safe, and positive home,” where challenges and illnesses did not dominate life. Sorsa’s husband now acts as her “sense of smell and taste,” sampling dishes for her during work.

All four of Sorsa’s children are now adults. She stressed that while they were raised on the farm, they were never pressured to continue the work: “The most important thing is that children get to choose what they want to do.”

Finland’s presidential honour for mothers, awarded annually on Mother’s Day, recognizes exceptional dedication to parenting and family life.