SOS
Children's Villages of Pakistan was established in 1975 and in the year 2000
will celebrate its 25th Anniversary. From the pilot project opened in Lahore in
1977, it has grown to 22 projects in different parts of the country.
The
SOS Children's movement is a unique system of child care. The special features
of SOS Children's Villages is that they are not traditional orphanages, they
provide homes for orphans and abandoned children with a warm family type
environment. An SOS Village provides children with loving care and instills in
them a sense of confidence so that they live normal lives and develop to their
full potential. This approach to the problem of orphan care has proved so
successful that today SOS is the largest social welfare organization in the
world. Presently there are 1462 SOS facilities in 138 countries, a large number
being situated in Asia, Africa and South America.
As
is the pattern throughout the world SOS has established facilities for the
countries in which they operate according to the need. To ensure that the
children receive a good education and also integrate with other children,
community schools are established in conjunction with every SOS Children's
Village project. These are providing quality education at a reasonable cost to
underprivileged children from the locality.
Four
basic principles form the basis of all work and provide the children a life as
normal as possible a mother, brothers and sisters, a home and the Village.
The
Mother is the person with whom the ultimate responsibility rests for meeting
the child's physical and emotional needs, and providing essential love and
care. In the final analysis the quality of care provided by the mother
determines the success of our efforts.
Brothers
and Sisters are essential in any family pattern. Boys and girls are kept
together in the family homes till the boys reach adolescence. Real brothers and
sisters are always kept together and accommodated in the same house.
The
Home is the focal point of the Village. Here a child finds security, a feeling
of belonging and having this own place in this world. An SOS home is a self-contained
unit and is as close as possible to a normal home in all respects.
The
Village is the community in which the child lives and finds shelter and support
from other members of this 'family'.
Extra
curricular activities are also organized in which the children enthusiastically
participate. Activity areas according to age groups are included in the Village
facilities. They are periodically taken on trips outside the Village and take
part in many community activities with other children. In short, they are
provided every opportunity to develop into happy, confident and well-adjusted
personalities.
A
special feature of SOS Children's Villages is that the organization takes responsibility
for the children in its care till they are able to support themselves. After
matriculation children both boys and girls receive career counseling. Higher
education is provided to those with merit and otherwise technical education.
The boys are cared for till they are capable of earning their livelihood and
girls till such time as they are married. So far almost 200 children have been
settled outside and the marriages of 25
girls
arranged.
SOS
Children's Villages of Pakistan is financed through the support of private
individuals, philanthropic foundations and the corporate sector. Fund raising
is an essential part of the work and donations are solicited for the donation
of family homes in the Villages and of classrooms for the schools.
To
celebrate the 25th anniversary, six more SOS Children's Villages will be
established in Multan, Sialkot, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur.
The
generous support of the community has made it possible to achieve so much in 25
years and future plans include setting up more facilities in all parts of the
country.
Contributed:
President, SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan.
To celebrate the "25th Anniversary of SOS Village Pakistan Post Office is issuing one commemorative Postage siamp of Rs. 2/- denomination on March 12, 2000.
