Children prepare the garden for spring festival at Children's Village…
The first SOS Children's Village in China was built in 1987 in Tianjin, not far from the capital Beijing. Currently, nine SOS Children's Villages are providing a new home to more than 1,000 girls and boys: in Tianjin, Yantai, Qiqihar, Nanchang, Putian, Chengdu, Kaifeng, Urumqi and Lhasa.
- Lisa
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Children prepare the garden for spring festival at Children's Village Urumqi, China.
The first SOS Children's Village in China was built in 1987 in Tianjin, not far from the capital Beijing. Currently, nine SOS Children's Villages are providing a new home to more than 1,000 girls and boys: in Tianjin, Yantai, Qiqihar, Nanchang, Putian, Chengdu, Kaifeng, Urumqi and Lhasa.
The tenth SOS Children's is currently being built in Beijing and is to be completed this year.
Each SOS Children's Village has its own nursery which is also open to the children from the area and which is very well attended.
More than 90% of all children in the SOS nurseries do not live in an SOS Children's Village but come from the direct neighbourhood. This means, in turn, that the SOS children are involved in village or community life as well.
SOS Children's Villages China is particularly proud of its chool in Yantai. With more than 3,000 pupils it is the biggest SOS school worldwide. It has model school status and is one of the best schools of the country.
The SOS vocational training centre in Qiqihar prepares 500 pupils for their working life by providing them with practically oriented training. Accountancy, common computer programmes and business management are some of the subjects of the curriculum.
15-year-old Luo decided to attend the technical branch of the school, although he is also very interested in art. His calligraphy pictures have already been printed in a local magazine. Proudly, he presents two of his numerous masterpieces.
- Mary
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Sweet treats of doughnut rings made in Thailand.
SOS Children's Villages Thailand and Dumex (a company famous for making baby milk and nutrient products) together have been running local fund raising projects in Thailand. "Supporting lives by Dumex" is a programme which not only supports raising funds but also supports knowledge sharing and some social activities of SOS Children's Villages Thailand.
As part of this project cooking classes were held at SOS Children's Village Nongkhai where SOS mothers participated.
A workshop titled "Nutrient Menu" was held at an October weekend. The menu was simple food but the focus was how to cook it in a manner that it tastes delicious and is at the same time very nutritious.
"It is always a challenge for mothers to cook food which is healthy and at the same time satisfies the taste buds of children," said one of the mothers. "For me this is a wonderful opportunity to learn how to cook healthy, mouth-watering meals," she continued.
The nutritionist gave a practical class where mothers learnt how to cook one snack and one dessert. Spring roll is one of the popular Thai snacks and amongst desserts coconut pancake tops the list. The pancakes can not only be served for dessert but also make a great breakfast or brunch on weekends.
For the girls it was good fun and at the same time learning exercise. Anchali, an eleven-year old girl who was mixing dough with her hands, seemed quite excited about this event. "I always see mama making our food but I have never done any cooking on my own. Now I am learning how to prepare spring rolls and even try my hands on them", she said.
One of the mothers tried making vegetarian spring rolls with tofu and lots of vegetables. After the class finished staff from Dumex, SOS mothers and girls had a great lunch together with what was cooked by everyone's joint efforts.
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