Two girls watering vegetables - CV Mzuzu, Malawi…
"Outside of this village there are some other children who are poor like I was before I came here. God, I lost my parents, but you brought me here and you gave me a loving mother like this one, who gives me all the support I need."
- Lisa
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Two girls watering vegetables - CV Mzuzu, Malawi
"Outside of this village there are some other children who are poor like I was before I came here. God, I lost my parents, but you brought me here and you gave me a loving mother like this one, who gives me all the support I need."
Tribute to My Mum
Milliam, who is fourteen, and lives with Mama Kilama, is of the opinion that God and her SOS mother, Mama Kilama, watch over her, and she expressed herself in English in the card which she presented to her mother for Mother's Day.
In it, she wrote:
"Thank you, God, that I am alive and so is my SOS mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and all others in this village.
God, I do not take it for granted that you give us food to eat, clothes to wear, friends to play with, parents to guide, cherish and take care of us.
How wonderful you are, O God!
Teach me to fear you in everything. I love you God, with all my heart. I do not know how to thank you enough for everything that you have done in my life. You brought me here to SOS Children's Village Mzuzu where there is joy, peace and what have you.
I do not take it lightly, O God. Outside of this village there are some other children who are poor like I was before I came here.
God, I lost my parents, but you brought me here and you gave me a loving mother like this one, who gives me all the support I need.
God, give her strength and power so that she continues to do your job.
God forgive her wrongs. She is also a person who can do the opposite that you want her to, but all the same, I want to thank her because she tries her best.
It is not easy for a human being to take care of other people's children, but this mother does."
- Mary
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An SOS mother carrying a baby - CV N'djamena, Chad
First Children Arrive at SOS Children's Village N'djamena
After 23 months of works, the first SOS Children's Village became functional in Chad. On 17 March 2005, it was possible for the first children to move into the newly opened SOS Children's Village N'djamena, which is getting gradually animated as the days passes. It is estimated that it will be full by the end of the year.
The children found that the SOS mothers and aunts (family helpers) were already installed in the family houses, waiting for them. They are orphans or abandoned, really in need. They come from the areas surrounding the village, and even from very far. *Andrew, 24 days (only) comes from Goré in the south of the country, at about 500 kilometres from the capital N'djamena. His mother died in labour, following a surgical operation. Thanks to the new SOS Children's Village N'djamena, he was able to find a new mother, a new family and the necessary warmth, as well as affection which will help him live and grow like all the children. According to Béatrice, his SOS mother, he is a very kind child. "He doesn't cry a lot, except when he is hungry", she said, caressing him in her hands.
SOS Children's Village N'djamena is the first private institution in Chad which offers long term family-based care for children in need. The new village carries a lot of hope, as an estimated 10,000 orphans and abandoned children live on the capital streets and are exposed to drugs, alcohol and prostitution, given as the consequences of the 30 years civil war which broke several families and which is still affecting the country today.
The new village is designed for 120 children, with supporting facilities such as a kindergarten, a primary school and a socio-medical centre. According to the village director, Abdelkerim Mahamat, the kindergarten and the primary school will start their activities in September 2005, together with the new school year. Meanwhile, the time will be given to complete the equipping of the classrooms, the school canteens and the administrations. The socio-medical centre will be operational in a few weeks, as soon as the first medical equipments will be available. It will be of great help for the surrounding communities, as the nearest hospital is at about five kilometres from the village.
The foundation stone for the SOS Children's Village N'djamena was laid on 1 April 2003, after ten years of negotiations which gave birth to the signature of an agreement with the government, enabling SOS Children's Villages to start its activities in Chad.
The official inauguration of the village could take place in the first term of October 2005.
* For privacy reasons, we have changed the name of the baby.
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