SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES
All funds raised by Dreams of Africa will be donated to SOS Children's Villages, the World's largest orphan charity. The information provided in these pages will show why SOS is the perfect partner in helping us give the children of Africa the means to develop themselves. SOS Children's Villages invests in children, in their education, and in their communities; thus they invest in the long term development of Africa.
SOS Children's Villages are the main focus and point of departure for the organisation's global activities. Every SOS Children's Village offers a permanent home in a family-style environment to children who have lost their parents or can no longer live with them. Four to ten boys and girls of different ages live together with their SOS mother in a family house, and eight to fifteen SOS Children's Village families form a village community.
Four Principles of SOS Children's Villages
The Mother
Each child has a caring parent.The most important person for the children's personal development on the road to self-reliance is their SOS mother. She builds an emotional bond with each child entrusted to her care and provides the security they need. She is a child care professional and recognises and respects each child's family background, cultural roots and religion.
Brothers and sisters:
Family ties are built. Girls and boys of different ages live together as brothers and sisters. Siblings are not separated when they arrive at the village and live together in the same SOS family. These children, together with their SOS mother, build emotional ties that last a lifetime.
The House:
Each family creates its own home. The house is the family's home, with its own unique feeling, rhythm and routine. Under its roof, children enjoy a real sense of security and belonging. Children grow and learn together, sharing responsibilities and the joys and sorrows of daily life.
The Village:
The SOS family is part of the community. The SOS Children's Village is an integral part of the community in its location, design and every other aspect. SOS families are grouped together, enabling them to share experiences and offer one another a helping hand. Within this supportive environment children learn to trust and believe in others and themselves.
One of the reasons that SOS Children's Villages became the basis of an international charity recognised by leaders such as Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama is simple:
They Work.
From the Village to Society SOS Children's Villages Youth Care Work.
SOS Children's Villages attaches great importance to ensuring that the young people entrusted to its care learn to face up to the social and economic realities of their world and develop their own personal perspectives in life. The overall goal is to accompany young people on their road to becoming self-reliant adults: to help them develop a positive approach to life, integrate into society and be able to provide for themselves.
SOS Youth Facilities
Young people often move out of the village and into a youth facility when they start a vocational training course or go on to higher education. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions.
Youth houses provide a home for several groups of youngsters aged fourteen and above. The necessary educational and psychological support is also available. Some youth houses are larger and take in youngsters from more than one SOS Children's Village. In order to ensure the successful guidance of the young people towards independence, SOS Children's Villages is increasingly moving away from institutional forms of care - such as SOS Youth Houses, for example. The basic principle is the concept of family-oriented care, which is why the present guidelines talk exclusively about "SOS Youth Communities" (or "semi-independent housing programme"). Youth communities are designed to accommodate a maximum of 14 young people plus one live-in counsellor. The young people themselves are responsible for organising their everyday lives.
The big move from the shelter of the family nest to the world of independence and responsibility is a big step for any young person. One of the first problems is often finding somewhere to live, quite apart from the fact that a home costs money and needs to be looked after. Without a regular income such a move is unthinkable. In order to cater for the needs of these young adults, SOS Children's Villages has therefore developed its semi-independent housing programme. This enables young adults to choose and furnish their own home.
SOS Children's Villages restores to many African children what has been taken away; stability, hope and opportunity. By providing loving, caring and nurturing homes, SOS provides many children with an environment in which they have the opportunity to fulfill their massive potential.