Mothers buying vegetables on the local market at Children's Village Bo,…
I've been reading about how the SOS Social Centre Goderich helps to build up the local community:
- Lisa
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Mothers buying vegetables on the local market at Children's Village Bo, Sierra Leone
I've been reading about how the SOS Social Centre Goderich helps to build up the local community:
The SOS Social Centre Goderich is proud to present its first computer graduates.
The SOS Social Centre in Goderich is becoming a real community centre! Not only is it well known for the family support it offers to vulnerable children and families, it's also getting famous for the various classes it offers to the community. On 1 February, the first 28 graduates received their diplomas in basic computer skills. This is the only computer course offered in the wide community of Goderich.
Nammenah , who is 26 years old, achieved one of her dreams in life when she graduated with a certificate in computer studies from the SOS Social Centre on Friday 1 February. Though she is a nurse by profession she saw the importance of being computer literate.
When asked why she enrolled for computer studies, Nammenah says: "We are living in a world were technology is improving fast especially in the area of computer. In the hospital where I work important medical data are stored in the computer. I will now use the training I have acquired to enhance my work in the hospital."
Darlton, a first-year-student studying Peace and Conflict Resolution at the Milton Margai College of Education said he took the advantage to enroll at the SOS Social Centre computer course because the tuition fees are affordable to everybody in the Goderich community and he does not want to be left out in acquiring skills in computing.
"The SOS Social Centre computer course is the only one in our community and we, students, will make maximum use of this facility. The certificate I have received will encourage other students to come to the centre," Darlton remarks.
Juliana has been out of employment for over a year, the reason being that she could not afford to pay the high fees charged by other computer schools in Freetown, the country's capital located a few kilometers away from Goderich. She was trained in secretarial work but lacked computer know-how. Today, she is very happy to be able to operate a computer, knowing it will help her to pick up a job.
On that eventful day, the 28 students who had undergone a three-month intensive training in computing received their certificates with pride and satisfaction.
The SOS Social Centre started its computer training courses in August 2007. Presently, it provides training for 64 students. The school on a daily basis organizes four sessions of trainings in the morning, which runs up to the afternoon, and in the evening two sessions are held for students who are employed. Plans are also well underway to introduce the advance stage of the training.
- Mary
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Panorama view of the village and playground Children's Village Assomada, Cape Verde
I've been reading the story of a Cape Verdean mother, she is now a business woman who is able to care for her children independently. This is her story:
34-year-old Linete is a mother of three. The family lives in Assomada, in a small house lent by another Cape Verdean family who lives out of the country, but Linette could hardly cope with providing the essential services for her twelve and five-year-old girls and eleven-year-old boy. However, since the family received support from the family strengthening programme of SOS Children's Villages Cape Verde, Linete is now her own employer and has regained confidence.
Before, Linete was struggling and had no real job. She did help her old aunt to sell vegetables and received a tiny commission that could provide a little bit of food for her and her children. However, it was definitely not enough to raise her three kids, especially when the father of the children who had left never contributes to any expenses
"Now its great!", says Linete. "With the 20,000 escudos (about USD 220) I received thanks to the family strengthening programme to start my own little business, I managed to get some goods, fruits and vegetables to sell in the market, and all the profit is for me! I really earn much more money than I ever earned in the past, and I am now able to buy food in bulk for my family, which is much cheaper!", explains Linete. "Once, I buy a 25 kg bag of rice, a crate of oil bottles...another time I buy a big bag of sugar. And like this, I manage to make our own stock and our family is no longer missing anything at home".
Luckily, Linete has business in the blood! Ever since she was a little girl, she used to sell. Her father left her and her siblings and mother when she was a little girl. "My mother having very little resources, my siblings and I only attended school until the fourth year of primary, as it was free of charge, but after that we stayed home", explains Linete. "When I saw my friends were always getting new things like clothes, body creams and other girls' stuffs, I decided I would start selling small things to be able to also buy my little own stuff!, she recalls with a smile.
Today, Linete's business skills have developed! The amount she received from SOS Children's Villages Cape Verde is indeed a zero interest loan. She'll start reimbursing in March, and plans to be done by July. "As I know I have to reimburse the loan, I only spend a bit of the profit I make and save the rest for the future!", explains Linete
Now a business woman, Linete does not put aside her role as a mother. Linete starts her day at seven. She prepares breakfast for her children who go to school at eight o'clock. Then, she goes to the market to sell and comes back only in the late afternoon. Sometimes, she eats lunch in the market; sometimes, she waits to go home to eat. Back home, it's time to cook dinner and make sure the children did their homework. When she goes to bed at night, Linete never forgets to pray to God to continue giving her strength and courage to keep her caring for her children the way she's now able to!
In addition to this loan support, the family strengthening programme in Assomada also paid for the school fees of her three children, to enable Linete to only concentrate on improving her business and getting progressively settled in her household expenditures management. Her youngest girl is attending the SOS Kindergarten in Assomada, while the two older ones are in primary school nearby. To get started, her family also received a first necessity package, including rice, sugar, powder milk, beans and soap, among other things .
Linete's three children are part of the first set of children to receive support from the family strengthening programme of Assomada.
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