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Child Protection Week: 23 - 29 May 2011

Today, May 23, 2011 marks the beginning of Child Protection week in South Africa.

In a country where child abuse and abandonment is rife, it is vital that the value of children is promoted and that particular attention is drawn to issues such as abuse and neglect.

Non-profit organisation, SOS Children’s Villages has, since inception, been committed to the ‘Prevention of Child Abandonment’ and as such has often set the benchmark in terms of safeguarding the rights of children and youth not only in South Africa but internationally too.

In fact, the organisation is so serious about advocating the protection of minors that in 2009 a Child Protection Team was trained up and assigned to supply the communities in which SOS operates with a facility whereby community members can report all child violations. In November 2010, the National Child Protection Team grew and now comprises of three National Focal persons (those to whom the violations are reported) and two Investigators (the people who investigate the reported violations).

SOS Children’s Villages South Africa has been actively involved in providing a loving home to the orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children in our country since 1982 and is able to provide credible and relevant comment regarding the upcoming Child Protection Week.

Help SOS Children’s Villages South Africa advocate the rights of children by setting up an interview with one of our experts in order that we may, together, raise awareness around the abuse and neglect of those who can’t protect themselves.

For more information or to set up an interview, please contact Vincent Hlabangana on 011 234 8708 or 078 602 6884 on Vincent.Hlabangana@sos.org.za

More about SOS Children‘s Villages

SOS Children‘s Villages is an independent, non-governmental, social development organisation that provides family-based care for children in 132 countries and territories and that advocates the concerns, rights and needs of children, especially of those without parental care. More than 73,000 children and young people live in 491 SOS Children‘s Villages and 396 SOS Youth Facilities around the world. Over 174,000 children and young people attend SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, SOS Kindergartens and SOS Vocational Training Centres.

Moreover, SOS Children‘s Villages provides vulnerable families with material, psychological and social support. About 450,000 people benefit from these family support services; more than 480,000 people make use of the SOS Medical Centres. In times of crisis and disaster, SOS Children‘s Villages helps through emergency relief programmes.

The SOS Children’s Villages Association of South Africa was founded in 1982 and officially registered as an aid agency in 1984

  • The association is a member of SOS – Kinderdorf International, the largest private welfare organisation for children in the world
  • SOS Children’s Villages helps orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children regardless of race, nationality or religion, by giving them a “family”, a permanent home and a sound basis for an independent adult life                            
  • Each child is assigned to a new mother and a new family of between eight and 10 brothers and sisters, who live in their own house within an SOS Children’s Village
  • Each house is run independently by the SOS mother who budgets and shops for her family.
  • There are eight SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa (Ennerdale, Mamelodi, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Mthatha, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit and Rustenburg) and three Social Centres where we operate our Family Strengthening Programme ( Mathanjana, Sekhukhune and Qwa Qwa.)
  • The Family Strengthening Programme  is operated at each of the eleven facilities across the country, providing support to vulnerable families within the surrounding communities, empowering them with education, skills and sustainability projects  
  • The association provides professional care in a controlled and managed environment, with a well-developed infrastructure.

For more information on SOS Children‘s Villages please contact:                                                                  

Leigh Swartz, Fund Development Manager - Tel: +27 (11) 234 8708, Email: leigh@sos.org.za                                                                                                            

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