A view of the village at Children's Village Mbabane, Swaziland.…
I found out about Nqobile Dlamini who had written "My life in the Swaziland SOS Children's Village". He is a very fresh and interesting voice and well worth a read.
- Lisa
-
A view of the village at Children's Village Mbabane, Swaziland.
I found out about Nqobile Dlamini who had written "My life in the Swaziland SOS Children's Village". He is a very fresh and interesting voice and well worth a read. This is Nqobile's story:
Hello! My name is Nqobile Dlamini and I am thirteen years old, although I will be fourteen in seven months time. I am at present going to school at Waterford KaMhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, which is only a short distance from the SOS Children's Village where I live. I love to read and I enjoy writing poetry, as well as swimming and karate. Sorry, you must think I am a little crazy telling you these things about myself straight away, when you want a report from me as a Swazi child living in an SOS Children's Village in Swaziland.
Anyway, let's get into this serious business! Firstly, Swaziland, the country where I live is very small, if you use an atlas and find a map of Africa you will find it very difficult to find, it is almost entirely surrounded by South Africa, with Mozambique another big country being found on its eastern side.
This means that Swaziland is land locked and if we want to go to the sea we have to travel to either Mozambique or South Africa. However, Swaziland is very beautiful with lots of mountains in the part where I live. Normally, our weather is quite mild, even in the winter, but this year we had snow. This was amazing, as it lay on the ground and we were able to make snowballs and snowmen. In the summer months during November through to March the temperatures get quite high and we also, because of the mountains, have quite a bit of rain.
Living in the SOS Children's Village is just like having a proper family. There are ten homes in my Village and I live in the eighth one. It is called in Siswati Khayelihle, which translated, means "a beautiful home." There are ten children, one SOS Mother and when all of the Village needs to meet we also have a large meeting room.
My life as an SOS child is not so much different to that of another child of my age living in Swaziland. I really feel secure and loved in the SOS Village even though there are some ups and downs, just like in everybody's life. During holiday times we sometimes go on trips and also seminars are organised in things like career guidance, which I think is very important to prepare us for the future. We also have lots of recreational activities such as netball, volleyball and soccer.
I can honestly say that I enjoy living in the SOS Children's Village and I hope that this report has given a little glimpse into my life.
- Mary
-
Traning Center Belén, Paraguay - run as a training farm - offers agricultural training, with an emphasis on the practical, to young people from the region.
A common theme that runs through SOS Children's Villages Paraguay is a commitment to health, economic growth and care for the less fortunate of Paraguay's rural citizens.
There are four SOS Vocational Training Centres in Paraguay. Young women study nursing in the Panambí centre, where the nursing school offers professional classes. This is a boarding school with two living quarters, three classrooms and a laboratory.
The agricultural SOS Vocational Training Centre in Belén offers hands-on farming experience for young men. This centre creates opportunities which boost the rural economy and allow youth to remain in rural areas rather than move to the cities to find work.
The centre in Belén is operated as a working/training farm. It offers practical agricultural training to 48 young people who have completed their basic education, which gives them the opportunity to acquire the necessary know-how to be able to one day farm independently.
This expertise increases the chances for a better future in their home villages and counteracts the rural exodus that has contributed to the growth of enormous slums on the outskirts of many big cities. In addition to traditional subjects, students learn basic ecological values, ecological agriculture and its importance for mankind, as well as protection and renewal of natural energy resources. Twenty hectares of rain forest are also part of the SOS Vocational Training Centre Belén. Forest preservation, utilisation in accordance with the needs of nature and re-forestation are important subjects in the training farm's curriculum.
Share: