Children studying and looking at a world map at the SOS Children's Village Bharatpur, Nepal
I've been reading a report about how important it is, to a child, to know that there are people all around the world who care about them. It's a report on what 'being sponsored' means to child. Here is an extract:
- Lisa
-
Children studying and looking at a world map at the SOS Children's Village Bharatpur, Nepal
I've been reading a report about how important it is, to a child, to know that there are people all around the world who care about them. It's a report on what 'being sponsored' means to child. Here is an extract:
The calendar is from 2006 and already four years out of date, but still has a prime spot on the wall of this family house in SOS Children's Village Bharatpur in Nepal. The calendar is from Denmark and the winter months of January and February have shown the children living in the hot plains of southern Nepal what a forest all covered in snow can look like. There are pictures of sandy dunes and windmills - old wooden ones and modern high rising ones generating electricity off the sea shore. All of which are not familiar sights in Bharatpur. It's a gift from an international sponsor of one of the ten children living here and as such it's a treasure and not to be discarded just because it is not much use as a calendar.Eleven-year old Dil lists the countries from which his sponsors come from: France, Norway, Switzerland and Austria. His brothers and sisters eagerly add to the list; Italy, Sweden and USA .
This leads to a new discussion with the children -- they ask what is the capital of Norway? No one amongst the ten children knows the answer, but when 12-year old Kamala locates the school atlas, all look over her shoulder and scramble to be the first to point out Norway on the map.As to prove his point 13-year-old Sita pulls out her paper file from the cupboard and opens it to show the letters, birthday cards and Christmas and New Year's greetings she's received over the years. Every child in the family has such a file with their name on the front. Inside is a stamp, stickers, pictures of those people who support the work of SOS Children's Villages and send letters.
Gifts from sponsors are often revered to such an extent that they are not put to use, but rather kept as tucked away treasures. A fair number of the files contain stickers still in their plastic foil and painting books without any colourings.
Next to the outdated Danish calendar on the wall is a collage of postcards from all over the world and on the table in the living room a collection of greeting cards is on display. All bear witness to the importance such greetings are shown. The SOS mother of this family, Bidiya, tells that whenever one of the children receives a letter from a sponsor, it is read out loud for the others to listen to. Often the other children are only reluctantly permitted to touch the letters, the SOS village director reveals. When the children were asked about what issues they want the sponsors to tell them about in their letters, twelve-year old Krishna says;
"Maybe they could tell us more about their capitals and how they are developing. It could be interesting to know what they think are the reasons behind their development." Others want to know about the food, the clothes, the religious celebrations and festivals. The youngest in the family, eight-year old Sanu, adds that reading the names of pet animals is something that he likes to do.
Krishna reflects over how the sponsors feel themselves, when they write to the children. "They are there, we are here - it's such a long way. I am happy when I write letters, but it can also make me feel sad when I think about the distance between us, but what do they think," the boy wonders.
- Mary
-
Children eating breakfast, at the SOS Nursery School in Tbilisi, Georgia
Two brothers came, holding hands, to SOS Children's Village Tbilisi. Today, a decade later, they are alike in the love they share towards one person. This is the story of these little boys who grew to be happy adults in the SOS Children's Village:
Giorgi was seven and David two when the boys first stepped into SOS Children's Village Tbilisi. Both were urgently hospitalized due to David's severe malnourishment and Giorgi's appendix inflammation. They pulled out and grew up totally different, yet so the same.
It seemed like the troubles would never end for the two brothers. Both never met their father and their mother abandoned them after David was born. Their old ill grandpa couldn't care for the younglings and entrusted them to the care of SOS Children's Villages Georgia.
"They were scared, especially David," explains SOS mother Tamar. "They came from a distant rural area and never saw a big city. The hospital, the doctors, the treatments seemed too much for them." Luckily, after a couple of months, they got well and returned to the peacefulness of the village in suburban Tbilisi.
The adaptation process took time. "David became very attached to me," says Tamar. "But also very jealous of the other children. He wouldn't allow anyone to sit in my lap except for him. Giorgi was a different story. He was independent and took upon himself the task of keeping the order in our family."
Giorgi found peace in his new home and was determined to keep it. He mediated the quarrels between the other children and made sure no one used bad language. He would often ask from his SOS mother to implement punishments. "He is hurt when someone was angry or behaved bad and got away with, in his opinion, a mild sentence of being grounded for a week," says Tamar.
So, the former teacher of Georgian language decided to put her training to use. Whenever some child behaved badly or wronged someone, he or she was supposed to learn three short poems by heart under Giorgi's supervision. The outcome was that Giorgi fell in love with poetry. "He'd spend hours reading Georgian poets," says Tamar.
David was the complete opposite. "When he was little, he preferred stories and only if they were read to him," smiles Tamar. "He insisted that the punishment must also include stories. When I agreed, he began interrupting everyone who sat at the piano to practice. As youngest, he was quite mischievous."
The boys maintained a close bond even when Giorgi moved to the SOS Youth Facility. "Not a day passes by without him calling just to hear our voices. He is a positive role model for all my children. David looks up to his brother and is very proud of his academic achievements" smiles Tamar.
Giorgi's interests take him down the mysterious lanes of exploration. Whenever the SOS family goes on vacation or weekends away, Giorgi is the one who leads the forest expeditions. His adventurous spirit once urged him to build a small boat and explore the white-water of a mountain river. "Well, it sort of looked like a boat," laughs Giorgi. "I was ready to go downstream on it. Luckily mom stopped me. I was only 13 then."
This Tom Sawyer of Tbilisi also plays football and water-polo in the local clubs and enjoys reading about Egypt. "The pharaohs, the pyramids, the Sphinx, I'd love to see all that one day," Giorgi daydreams. "I dream of making an important archaeological discovery one day."
For David, Tamar's motherly love is the greatest discovery. He would often ask his SOS mother how did he come to this world. "'Tell me how you gave birth to me' he said once," explains Tamar. "I was confused and stumbled that I wasn't the one who gave birth to him but love him endlessly nonetheless. 'Oh, I know, I just wish you did' he said," Tamar's eyes glitter.
During the day David hugs his SOS mother countless times and at least once tells her he loves her very much. This affection made David set his career course already. "When I grow up I will become a scientist and I will invent pills which will give my [SOS] mother eternal life," says the cheery 12-year-old.
Physically the boys could pass as friends, never brothers. A careful eye, however, could notice a resemblance in the boys' deep dark eyes which glisten as they unravel their most important similarity, their common plan: "Our [SOS] mother will come live with us when we grow up and she retires!" When Tamar asked why, they exclaimed: "Because we only have you in this world, mom!"
For privacy reasons, the names of the two boys were changed.
Share: