SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES
SOS
Children's Villages care for orphaned, destitute, and abandoned children. We
aim to develop our children into responsible and independent adults who will
have the inner strength to cope with the challenges of the future.
The
The Francistown Village presently
has 240 children and youth.
We have begun building a third Children's Village
in Serowe. Already, 41 children have been admitted, although only 7 of the 12 family houses have been built. We urgently need funds to complete the project. We are attempting to fund this project through our own efforts alone. Help Botswana help herself!
The Villages have Kindergartens attended by both SOS children and children
from the surrounding community. As part of our outreach programs, we also
take on social welfare children from nearby areas. We have 40 children, who are brought by the Social Welfare Department,
attending our Tlokweng Kindergarten.
These children come from child-headed households in the poorer areas of Gaborone.
SOS
Botswana is also in partnership with the United States Department of Labor
in caring for 1100 children exposed to exploitative child labour. This programme provides uniforms for the children,
while our staff organise placement in schools and other support in the holidays.
We have introduced family strengthening programmes, operating from our Tlokweng and Francistown Villages. These identify needy families in the community,
and attempt to keep the children with their families by providing extra support.
For all our work, we depend on public
support, both nationally and internationally. Finances are tightly controlled
and Audited Accounts are available annually.
We believe we are worth supporting in that we are achieving results.
We have seven children at university, including a fith-year dental student, and a young lady who has graduated with a B.Sc.
Moreover, we have an additional seven who have won scholarships to Maru-a-Pula School, a local private school.