Saturday, June 23, 2007

SOS Ethiopia Children's Villages

Awassa Village

Dear Reader,

Appreciating you everlasting and ceaseless support, the SOS Children's Village Awassa would like to present you the warmest summer greetings and news of our village in the past six months.

The Village

Recently we admitted five children and continue making the village a home for the needy children. The new children easily familiarize with the village environment and started enjoying their childhood time with their age mates. Two of the admitted children have already joined the SOS kindergarten and the rest are freely mixing with the other toddlers in the village.

To equip our youth with the necessary life skills, we have arranged them a discussion to create awareness on drug and criminal concepts. Moreover, they were made to exercise regular meeting to practice shouldering responsibilities by forming committees. As an encouragement, outstanding youths in academics and behavior were awarded. On the other hand, Orientation on pre-youth home for children who are about to join the youth facility was given. Youths who are made to live out side the village with all the financial and other necessary support from the village are showing encouraging progress towards social integration.

Training was also conducted for mothers on the concepts of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. Our village, in creating partnership, signed an agreement with local non-governmental organization to work together on abandoned children. Examining our effort in raising a child, the local FM Radio gave a cover and broadcast the good practice our village.

In the past six months, the youth's home for boys, which was under construction, is completed and the boys started living in it. Moreover, the village staffs held the regular meetings to review activities and promote better way of carrying out tasks based on the appraisal.

Celebration and Co-curricular Activities

Co-curricular activities are strengthened and more children are participating in different clubs such as: Literature, Art, Music, Charity, Anti-Drug, HIV/AIDS, scout and Agriculture clubs. Especially the art and Scout clubs become popular. The scout club served as a media to provide moral lessons to the children where as the Art club and the Music club presented shows to the public during the ceremony organized in the village. To commemorate all the clubs in the school, social studies day was celebrated. In addition mini-media was started to allow children express and share their view.

We have colorfully celebrated the SOS Mothers day in our village on March 7, 2007 under the motto of "Empower the Mothers to Take the Lead". They renew their oaths to take the children in their care as their own. The music club had a great role on the day to entertain and organize the program. There were different guests from the child-oriented organization, local government bodies, community representatives and SOS community. Moreover, children presented a thank you and congratulations message to the mothers. On a related story, world AIDS day celebrated in our village together with the surrounding community.

Farm

The village farm has continued its great contribution for the village children and the surrounding community-providing dairy and vegetable products. Most of the products in the farm are in a great improvement and are making some money for its running cost. Under our village farm programme, we conducted training on the green house management for 60 female headed households in the surrounding community.

Special Needs Children

The education and training unit performs well in equipping the special needs children one is transferred to live independently with financial and other necessary support from the village and she is now following training on hair dressing. Another girl that was trained in tailor is employed and experiencing a self-support activity. Those who are attending the school are showing encouraging progress in their first semester exam. The silkworm production and ribbon that they have been doing is increasing.

Day Care Center

These days, the number of children from destitute families who are benefited from the center is increasing very much. By now we admitted two new children and are providing a full day care services fir 152 children. On top of this, 35 children who were transferred to the government schools are provided with school materials. The center organized 66 of beneficiaries in six groups and teaches them the culture of savings. Consequently, they started saving. Among these groups, the active group started to provide some food items to the day care center. All in all, the children in the day care center have shown great health improvements than the time of their admission.

On the other hand, mothers whose children is being taking care in day care center trained on silk worm production and have given awareness on special needs children.

Medical Center

Our Medical Center is doing pretty good. In the eve on the coming Ethiopian Millennium, our VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) center provide a mobile HIV/AIDS testing and counseling to the community in collaboration with the city Health Bureau for three consecutive months for about 800 people. On the top of this, our community reach out programme benefited 120 people in family planning, epidemic prevention and immunization.

Hermann Geminer School

Despite the challenges posed by teachers turn over, our school is doing great offering quality education.

Presently the number of students is increasing due to the commencement of IGCSE (International General Certificate Exam for Secondary Education) program which officially received accreditation from Cambridge University. SOS children from Harrar, Mekelle and Bahir Dar Villages enrolled in our school.

Tutorial classes are also providing for the students so as to improve their academic performance. Other than formal education, Children held a discussion in the area of reproductive health including personal sanitation and HIV/AIDS under the village education program.

Different short term trainings were given for the teaching staffs and SOS IGCSE students. Among these, training on the measurement and evaluation for all teaching staffs, brief training on human personality and problem solving on democracy for 40 SOS IGCSE students by experts from Canada. Moreover, Parent-Teachers Association was established aiming to increase harmony between them and provide quality education to the students. Furthermore, internet service was made accessible and available for all the staffs.

SOS Kindergarten

The number of SOS children increased in the KG due to the new admitted children which on the other hand results in decreasing the community student. We are continuing providing quality education for the children using various techniques. Some regional officials, guests of medical college student and people from different NGOs visited the KG. Currently except shortage of some equipment, the KG is running very well.

The highlighted hot News for Ethiopians, these days, is the advent of a New Millennium (2000). Ethiopia has its own unique and ancient calendar. According to our calendar, the year is divided in to 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days in leap year. Our calendar regard the time before Christ as 5500 and varied in eight years from the Gregorian calendar which regard the time before Christ as 5492 years which leaves us at the 10th month of 1999. Thus, Ethiopians look forward to a new millennium latter this year on September 11, 2007. The celebration officially starts before three months. In the last summit of the African Union, the Ethiopian millennium declared to be the African Millennium.
This is a good opportunity for us to promote the image of the country more than any other time.

Finally we would like to say thank you once again for all your best deeds and thoughtfulness for our kids' life.

Sincerely,
Abel Kassahun (Mr.)
Village Director – Awassa

Salvaging a child's life helps the whole society

The chance of attending education for a child who rarely gets a meal for survival is either zero or very minimal. This scenario is a nightmare for children like Frework who very much likes education and potentially capable. Frework is from a large family – seven including his parents – who are very poor.

The whole families' survival entirely depends on the income of the father which, however, is hardly enough for one person – USD 17.6 per month.

All of his siblings are early drop outs due to impasse financial chaos. Looking at this potential and passion for education, the family by all means managed to provide education for Frework.

Unfortunately, all this effort came to an end when the source of survival for the family, the father, died in 2002 when Frework promoted to grade eight with a remarkable score. Then onwards, the primary concern of the potential and the passionate student turns into the basic means of surviving not only for him but also for the whole family.

In this no way out seems situation, Frework heard about SOS HGS community extended programme that gives a scholarship for orphan and vulnerable children (OVC). He applied for the programme and admitted right after the death of this father. It was the dawn of a new life for the passionate student who was at the verge of dropping out. He continued his best achievements even in a hastening fashion.
Involving in income generation activities, he also enables his siblings to continue their education.

Frework is now completed his secondary education and joined a prestigious state university with a distinguished result. He envisages being a sociologist and likes to support his siblings and other children who are at risk.

A little support for the children creates a window of opportunity for the community.
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