In the family kitchen at Children's Village Borovljany Minsk, Belarus
Social centre anniversary and cornerstone laying for new SOS Children's Village
- Lisa
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In the family kitchen at Children's Village Borovljany Minsk, Belarus
To go with this lovely domestic scene, I have a story about the families we are supporting with our social centre at SOS Children's Village's Belarus.
In April 2006 we had two festivities for SOS Children's Villages in Belarus: SOS Social Centre Borovljany near Minsk celebrated its tenth anniversary; one day after the cornerstone for the third Belarusian children's village in Mogilev was laid.
On 21 April a concert for children suffering from cancer was held at the children's cancer clinic to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Mother and Child SOS Social Centre in Minsk, Belarus. Children who are staying at the clinic to battle cancer played games, sang songs and read poems before the concert. Various children's groups performed for the children, who really enjoyed the diversion from everyday life at the clinic that the concert offered.
In their speeches, some of the local authorities and friends of the centre remarked that the centre is celebrating its anniversary during the orthodox Easter. "The passage from the Bible 'love others as you love yourself' expresses the very essence of the SOS Social Centre - they care for people," said one of the speakers.
The director of the cancer clinic stressed the importance of the work SOS Social Centre is doing. "They are helping us greatly because children who do not have to stay in the hospital for extended periods can stay in the centre instead. That is a great help for us, the children and their parents. They can enjoy a pleasant atmosphere and concentrate on getting well again. We cannot forget the economic aspect, either; most of the parents could not afford to rent a flat in Minsk. I am very happy we have such great co-operation."
The SOS Social Centre presented its programme for the guests in the clinic's lobby. More than one hundred guests could read information about the organization, discover the different activities held by the centre and view an exhibition of drawings presented to the centre by the children who have stayed there.
Families who are currently staying in the SOS Social Centre participated in the celebration by planting ten trees around the centre.
Cornerstone laying in Mogilev
On 22 April dozens of little bells in the hands of cadets rang on 22 April at the cornerstone laying ceremony of the third SOS Children's Village in Belarus. The young cadets rang the bells as a reminder that nobody should forget the Chernobyl catastrophe and to emphasise that the side-effects of this disaster are still present in Belarus today.
Nikolay Chrolovitch, the national director of SOS Children's Villages Belarus, remarked, "There is a need for this third SOS Children's Village as the situation in Belarus has worsened in the last ten years. According to official statistics, in 1995 (when we opened the village in Borovljany) there were 13,000 orphans in Belarus. Today, we have 32,000 orphans."
Mogilev has 365,000 inhabitants and is situated 200 kilometres southwest of Minsk. Mogilev is located approximately 130 kilometres from the Belarusian-Russian border.
There are currently two SOS Children's Villages in Belarus. In 1995, the first village opened in Borovljany (near Minsk); a second village, in Marina Gorka, opened in 2003. The two SOS Children's Villages provide a home for 157 children. SOS Children's Villages Belarus has two youth facilities, currently serving 25 youth. Four houses at the SOS Social Centre Borovljany accommodate people affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe. In the past ten years, the SOS Social Centre has helped 2732 children, including children who already have cancerous problems and get treatment at the neighbouring cancer clinic, or children who live in contaminated areas. There is also a family strengthening programme in Belarus, helping 148 families with 330 children.
- Mary
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Children in living room at Children's Village Da Nang, Vietnam
To go with this picture in the home of these children, I have a story about the SOS Children's Villages in Vietnam receiving an award for their architecture:
In May 2008 the Vietnam Architects' Association honoured all twelve SOS Children's Villages for their architecture.
In the course of the 60 th anniversary of the Vietnam Architects' Association, the SOS Children's Villages Vietnam were, together with 19 other outstanding architectural works, honoured end of April in Hanoi. The criteria for selection included the interaction between architectural form, functionality and environment. However, the main criteria was the well-being of the people and, in the case of SOS Children's Villages, the children.
In Vietnam SOS Children's Villages established one of the first projects outside of Europe. As early as 1969 the SOS Children's Villages Go Vap and Da Lat were built. After the end of the war in Vietnam, they were closed again by the government in 1979. Only in 1987, the President of SOS Children's Villages, Helmut Kutin and the government of Vietnam signed an agreement, which made it possible for SOS Children's Villages to take up its work again.
Apart from the twelve existent SOS Children's Villages in Vietnam, there is currently another one being created in Dien Bien Phu, in the northern part of the country. "You can't compare one SOS Children's Village with one another. When it comes to constructing them, the needs of the children are considered, and, in addition, they look beautiful", said Mrs. Tran Thi Kim Dung, the deputy director of SOS Children's Villages Vietnam.
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