http://ekhaya.sos.pta.school.za/broc.txt (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
"What the orphaned and abandoned child
needs first and foremost is a family
- a family in which he or she can
develop normally"
Hermann Gmeiner (1919-1986)
Founder of SOS Children's Villages
WHAT ARE SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES?
The International SOS Association was founded in 1949. Today this
network consists of more than 1150 projects in more than 119
countries, making the SOS Children's Villages Association (or SOS
Kinderdorf International, as it is know in some countries) the
world's largest private child care organisation.
The purpose of SOS Children's Villages is to provide a permanent
family environment for children who have lost their parents or
whose parents are unable to suitably care for them. 8 to 10
children - boys and girls of various ages who grow up like brothers
and sisters - are cared for in small family-type groups, the SOS
families.
Each SOS family lives in a house of its own. The head of the family
is the SOS mother. She provides the children entrusted to her care
with the affection and sense of security they need to ensure their
sound development.
About 15 houses are grouped together as an SOS Children's Village
which forms a community and provides an extended family for all
children. The SOS Children's Village is supervised by a Village
Father who advises the mothers and, together with other male
employees, represents the father figure.
The children grow up in conditions very similar to those in a
normal family. They attend public schools and are encouraged to
integrate with the surrounding community, while educational therapy
supplements the children's upbringing. Children are accepted by SOS
Children's Villages - irrespective of race, nationality or creed -
from infancy to the age of eight years, solely according to their
needs for care. They stay until they are able to begin independent
life. Older teenagers may be placed in Youth Houses which support
them in taking their first step to independence. Wherever
appropriate, the SOS Children's Villages maintain contact with the
extended family from which the child comes.
COMMITMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
The SOS Children's Villages Association of South Africa was formed
in 1982 with the construction of the first SOS Children's Village.
Today hundreds of children are provided with a permanent family
environment in SOS Children's Villages in Ennerdale, Mamelodi,
Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg.
Attached to each SOS Children's Village is a SOS Kindergarten,
which is open to the surrounding communities and offers educational
programmes to young pre-school students. SOS Youth Houses provide
bridging facilities for the transition from life in the SOS
Children's Villages to independent life.
Under the guidance of a Youth Leader who lives with them, young
adults manage their own household while they learn how to share
resources and take responsibility for their actions.
Practical skills training programmes, such as computer usage and
sewing, offered by the SOS Training Centre in Mamelodi are aimed at
assisting youths from SOS Children's Villages and the community in
gaining meaningful employment. Through the Educare Community
"Cr‚che" Programme SOS shares its experience in educating children
with developing communities by training child-care workers and
assisting in developing activities and programmes for children.
THE ORGANISATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
The SOS Children's Villages Association of South Africa is a
private, charitable social welfare organisation. It is politically
and denominationally independent, and is an affiliated member of
SOS Kinderdorf International, based in Innsbruck, Austria.
Finances
SOS Children's Villages are dependent on financial support of
individual and corporate supporters. Individual donors generally
donate between R5 and R200 per month to support a broad range of
programmes. Corporate sponsors support the direct costs of
operating one or more SOS Family Houses and make contributions for
educational programmes which, in some cases, are tax deductible.
Funds received are administered by the SOS Children's Village
Association of South Africa. Every effort is made to keep
administration cost to an absolute minimum.
How YOU can help
Many children need many friends. Friends to share the
responsibility for their well-being now and in the future. Rather
than leaving destitute children to their own devices and a life of
hopelessness and poverty, your contribution will make it possible
for us to train and educate these children in proper caring family
environments. You can assist us to teach them to help themselves.
There are many ways of furthering aims of the local SOS
Association.
For instance:
* Monthly contributions as a friend of SOS
* Sponsorship of a specific project
* Donations, large or small
* Bequest,legacies
All friends of SOS receive regular information on the progress made
in South Africa.
National Office:
PO Box 22
RANDBURG
2125
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Tel +27 (0)11 792-9324/5/6
Fax +27 (0)11 792-9329
Fundraising Number: 01100033500007