Children from SOS Children's Village Kolkata - Caroline from SOS Children's Village Lilongwe in Malawi
I have visited India many times as a tourist and find myself totally bewitched by the spectacle of the culture and customs of this magical land.
- “My visit to SOS Children’s Village Kolkata in India”
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Judy McKenna, SOS Children Supporter
I have visited India many times as a tourist and find myself totally bewitched by the spectacle of the culture and customs of this magical land.
However, alongside its beauty I find it impossible to ignore the extreme poverty and deprivation that affects so many people’s lives.
I decided one way I could help was to find out about sponsoring a child. After carrying out some research on the computer, I came upon SOS Children and felt I was happy to support their aims and objectives.
I started sponsoring Sharmi in the Kolkata Children’s Village in 2010 when she was five. It is exciting to receive cards from her and to hear of her progress on a regular basis. This made us decide that our next holiday must include a visit to meet her.
Kolkata is an intriguing crowded city with areas of abject poverty. As advised on our arrival I rang the village secretary, Merry Saha, to arrange the visit the next day. It was reassuring to find the village situated in a pleasant suburb of Kolkata. On our arrival, we were greeted by Merry who showed us around the village. The village is well laid out with lovely gardens and swings and slides. Merry was extremely warm and welcoming to us. She had told Sharmi about our impending visit. Sharmi had already been to see her earlier in the day to find out what time we were due!
Merry then introduced us to Sharmi, along with her mother and some of her siblings at their house. Sharmi is the youngest child in her family and it was delightful to see how the older children worked with her to complete a card for us. Sharmi herself is a happy and confident little girl. She enthusiastically showed us round her house. The walls were covered with artwork the children had created. Sharmi was also keen to point out the flowers and plants growing in their little garden. Her mother was gracious and friendly towards us during our visit and gave us a beautiful painting drawn by one of Sharmi’s older sisters.
It was a delight and privilege to meet this happy outgoing little girl who is growing up as a valued member of a loving family within this safe and friendly environment. We left with many happy memories of our visit. I have sent the photographs we took on that day to Sharmi and feel our letters to each other will be much more meaningful now that we have actually met.
- "A lot to learn”
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Peter Law, Director of Marketing & Communications, SOS Children UK
An article on SOS Children’s ‘Our Africa’ website talks about how people often try to understand Africa's children by looking at poverty or education league tables and other statistical reports.
But the rich variety of children’s backgrounds depicted by the ‘Our Africa’ videos shows that differences across the continent can be greater than similarities. In fact, the article argues, a teenager growing up in a developed suburb in Cape Town may have far more in common with a child in Torquay than with one on the streets of Dakar.
I spent several days last year with a teenager featured in the article’s accompanying video. Caroline, then living at SOS Children’s Village Lilongwe in Malawi (she’s now at college), talks on the film about ‘outdated’ social practices in her homeland that make her want to speak out – such as marriage forced on Malawian children, usually with older men.
With internet access and social media friends on other continents, Caroline now has increasingly as much in common with teenagers in Europe and the US as she does with her friends in Malawi. From fashion designs, to make-up, to favoured international celebrities, her interests span borders.
A common theme among some African teenagers, especially from more economically-developed urban communities, is that they are increasingly aware of their country’s status on the developing world timeline. They want to find a ‘way out’ to what they perceive as a better life elsewhere. Caroline wants to marry a European.
Take, for example, as well, an aspiring and talented young athlete Adeline, featured on the SOS Children website here.
Adeline, now studying sport at a UK university, talks about how difficult it would have been to pursue her athletics career in her Côte d'Ivoire homeland. The help she received from sponsors to develop her career in the UK made her dreams come true. She would be the envy of many back home.
Yet, for every would-be ‘escapee’, there are thousands more from a new generation of African teenagers, who may never have the money to travel beyond their continent, yet through ‘Our Africa’ can celebrate their cultural riches, the potential from their country’s natural wealth, and a pride in what their country of tomorrow will offer the world community.
Their counterparts in Torquay may have a lot to learn from them.
‘Our Africa’ is at: www.our-africa.org
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