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SOS Children’s Villages initiates a community based programme to help AIDS orphans
SOS Children's Village Association of Zimbabwe
September 17, 2002

In a new community based outreach programme, SOS Children’s Villages Zimbabwe is giving support to 500 children in the Glen Norah suburb of Harare. The programme is run from the SOS Social Centre at the Children’s Village in Waterfalls and is due to expand to 750 children by the end of this year.

"Most of the children have lost their parents to AIDS and are living in child-headed or grandparent-headed families, said Camela Pfupa, co-ordinator of the social centre. "Others are looking after terminally ill parents or are living with relatives from their extended families. The children are referred to us by Harare municipal health workers in Glen Norah."

SOS Children’s Villages gives the children monthly supplies of mealie meal, beans, peanut butter, laundry soap and Vaseline. The organisation also helps with their health and education needs, paying for hospital fees and medication and giving them psychosocial support as well as providing school fees and uniforms. The children receive two blankets each when they join the programme.

"We are keen to encourage self-sufficiency and we plan to support income generating initiatives at household level," said Mrs Pfupa.

Although SOS Children’s Villages traditionally cares for orphans in Villages, the organisation has extended its work to include community-based programmes due to the enormity of the AIDS crisis in Zimbabwe. The new approach makes it possible for it to help a greater number of children affected by AIDS with the resources available.

There are three SOS Children’s Villages in Zimbabwe, at Bindura, Waterfalls and Bulawayo. The Villages raise 600 orphaned or abandoned children and teenagers in family type groups. The organisation also provides education for 4 500 SOS and community children at its eight schools and kindergartens attached to the Villages. It trains SOS youths in agriculture and engineering at the SOS Vocational Training Scheme on its commercial farm near Bindura, where it also offers permanent settlement to graduates of the agricultural training programme.

SOS Children’s Villages Zimbabwe is part of the worldwide SOS-Kinderdorf International which is based in Austria and has Villages in 131 countries.

For further information contact:
Carol Smith
SOS Children’s Villages
Tel. Harare 746451/3
Email: carol@soszim.co.zw

Visit the SOS Children's Village Association of Zimbabwe fact sheet
Visit the SOS website at www.sos-childrensvillages.com

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