SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES PAKISTAN. JANUARY 01, 2025 (2025-1)

 

INTRODUCTION:- SOS Children's Villages Pakistan is a private social welfare organization dedicated to providing homes for orphans and abandoned children. It is registered with the Directorate General of Social Welfare, Government of the Punjab, Lahore vide Registration No. DSW (Pb) 75-812 dated September 10, 1975.

The special feature of SOS Children Villages is that these are not traditional orphanages: they provide children with a warm, family-type environment. Every effort is made to enrich children with strong moral values, sound education, and skills that will enable them to become productive and  dependable citizens.

OBJECTIVES:- The primary need of children deprived of their natural parents is to be placed in a situation that is as close as possible to a natural home.

SOS Children's Villages meet this need by providing them with security and loving care. They are enabled to live normal lives and be instilled with a sense of confidence so that they can develop  to  their  ful l potential.

SOS Children’s villages play the role of their family and provide them with higher education or job training according to their aptitude. SOS Children's villages are working towards the day when it will be able to provide shelter to every deserving child in the country. SOS Childern's villages consider this a realistic target as it admit only those children who are either complete orphans or, those we categorize as 'social' orphans, i.e. those whose mothers cannot keep them because they have remarried or they have an incurable disease such as cancer or mental illness.

AFFILIATION:- SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan is affiliated with SOS International, which is the umbrella organization, with its head office in Innsbruck, Austria. It is one of 130 member associations in different countries, many of them being in Asia, Africa, and South America. SOS International is the largest child welfare organization in the world and has so far established over 2800 projects.

PHILOSOPHY:- The philosophy of SOS Children’s villages is simple and very basic. Every child has the right to good nurturing. To provide the children with a normal environment, four principles are adhered to, and form the basis of all the work of the organization.

These are:

•             A Mother

•             Brothers and Sisters

•             A Home

•             The Village

The Mother is the person with whom the ultimate responsibility rests for meeting the child's physical and emotional needs, and for providing essential love and care. In the final analysis, the quality of care provided by the mother determines the success of our efforts. The SOS 'mothers' are selected with great care. They are usually single women, often widows without their own families, and are thus able to commit themselves completely to the responsibility of being in an SOS Village.

Brothers and Sisters are essential in any family pattern. Boys and girls of various ages grow up together as brothers and sisters. Real brothers and sisters are not separated and are always accommodated in the same house. On reaching adolescence the boys are shifted to a Youth Home.

The Home is the focal point of the Village. Here the children find security, a feeling of 'belonging' and having their place in the world. An SOS home is a self-contained unit and is as close as possible to a normal home in all respects. Every house consists of a living area, kitchen, separate bedrooms for girls and boys, and a small room for the mother. A kitchen garden is maintained by the family.

The Village is the community in which the child lives and finds shelter and support from other members of this 'family'.

An SOS Village is generally comprised of 15 family homes, a community hall, an administration office, a mosque, a director's residence, a grocery shop, a workshop, a  dispensary , essential  staff  residences,  and  adequate  playgrounds.

Religious instruction is an integral part of the children's routine. Extracurricular activities are also organized in which the children enthusiastically participate. Scouting, Girl Guides, games, cooking classes, art classes, and sewing are some of the many diverse activities available to them.

A special feature of SOS Children's Villages is that the organization takes responsibility for the children in its care till they can support themselves. After matriculation, both boys and girls receive career counseling. Higher education is provided to those with merit and, otherwise, technical education. The boys remain in our care till they are capable of earning their livelihood and the girls till such time as they are married. The marriages of the girls are arranged by the organization.

SOS PAKISTAN PROJECTS:- SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan was founded in 1975. The first project to be opened was the SOS Children's Village in Lahore and since then over 64 projects have been established nationwide, of which 35 are exclusively for orphans.

SCHOOLS:- SOS Children’s villages consider that a good education is the greatest gift we can give to our children and for this purpose schools are established in conjunction with every SOS Children's Village. These schools provide quality education, not only to our children but also to other underprivileged children. Outside children far outnumber the SOS children and thus these schools serve a dual purpose - they enable our children to integrate with the community and also contribute to the vital sector of education.

SOS YOUTH HOMES:- SOS Youth Homes are opened wherever we have SOS Children's Villages and boys are shifted there upon reaching adolescence. They do not leave the care of SOS Childern's  villages  till  such time  as  they  are  able to  earn their  livelihood.

AFTER LEAVING SOS:- The ultimate proof of our success is the assimilation of our children into the mainstream. So far, several hundred children have passed through our hands and are generally well-settled in life.

They are working in diverse fields such as banking, computer companies, teaching, industry, the armed forces, and private enterprise.The girls are also encouraged to train for careers and their marriages are also arranged by us.

They return once a year for a reunion and, otherwise too, keep in touch. We are always available to applaud their success or lend a helping hand.

On the SOS Children's Villages Pakistan, the commemorative postage stamp is being issued by Pakistan Post of the value of Rs.50/- each denomination on 1st January, 2025.