SOS Children and your school
11/04/2006
"Our pupils have a great deal to learn about the world and working with SOS Children is a really positive way to get them thinking about who they are, where they fit into the bigger picture and how they can make a difference."
Sarah Humphries, Headteacher, Kettlefields Primary School, Cambs.
Global network
SOS Children is the world's largest orphan charity. We care for children who have lost their parents through war, famine, diease, poverty and natural disasters. 60,000 children are currently cared for in family homes in our SOS Children's Villages and we provide almost a million more children and their families with medical care, schooling, vocational training, AIDS outreach support and emergency aid. SOS Children works in 130 countries and can therefore offer a truly global dimension to the school curriculum. SOS Children hopes to work in partnership with your school to enable a greater understanding of the global community and development issues.
Would you like information about:
Specific countries and issues
Your school can find a wide range of country- and issue-specific information on the SOS Children website. For information about the countries in which we work, you can go to our country directory
SOS Children’s work is increasingly with orphans of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Information about HIV/AIDS in Africa and our projects across the continent can be found here: HIV/AIDS orphans
If you are particularly interested in the issue of street children you can find more information on our street children pages.
You may also want to learn more about our work with child soldiers. Case studies can be found here: child soldiers
If you cannot find the information or resources you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact Hannah on hannah@soschildren.org
Global citizenship and curriculum support
SOS Children has just produced the first edition of A World of Learning, a stand-alone encyclopaedia of 2006 articles and 8000 photographs and images selected from Wikipedia and put together on an easily accessible CD. If you would like a copy of the CD or would like to be updated about other global citizenship products then please contact Caroline caroline@soschildren.org
SOS Children recently took over the Worldaware website. The downloadable resources available on the Worldaware website can be used in conjunction with the information you can find on the SOS Children website. You can find curriculum support and resources at www.worldaware.org.uk/education/curriculum.html
Promotional and education resources
We have an ever increasing range of resources available for schools. Our captivating South African DVD, which uncovers the issues facing orphans in Johannesburg is available for use by schools. We have a fundraising pack with a large A3 poster and an A-Z of fundraising. We also have a large archive of photographs from around the world and case studies that you may wish to incorporate into the curriculum. Please contact Hannah for more details.
School visits and speakers
SOS staff or volunteers are more than happy to come and speak and do presentations at your school about SOS Children's work across the world. If you are interested in a visit from SOS Children, please contact Hannah .
Information about SOS Schools
Education is key to the development of every child. SOS Children runs schools around the world, to provide an education to even the most disadvantaged children. A database of all SOS Schools can be found at www.sos-schools.org. If you are interested in linking with an SOS School please see our section on village sponsorship.
Staff visits and volunteering
Many teachers find visiting an SOS Children's Village a fulfilling and exciting opportunity. If you would like to visit an SOS village please do get in get in touch with the UK office and we are more than happy to request a visit on your behalf. Contact Hannah for further details.
In our SOS Children's Villages we employ fully trained local staff who can develop long term relationships with the children we are caring for. We therefore tend not to recruit volunteers for work overseas. For more information about volunteering please go to volunteering for SOS Children
Village sponsorship and school linking
Your school may be interested in establishing a link with an SOS school through village sponsorship. Many schools find that the curriculum is enhanced as a result of linking through SOS Children. For example Latymer School in London has developed a 4 week PSHE programme targetted at year 8 pupils as a result of their link with an SOS Children's Village in Malawi.
World Orphan Week (WOW) 2006
2-8 October 2006 is the time to WOW friends and family with creative and challenging activities and to raise vital funds and awareness for SOS Children. Events that took place last year included ballon races, cinema previews, dress down days, win a day of work raffles and the WOW ball.
Last year we raised over £200,000. Could you and your school help us to continue to support orphaned children around the world this year?
For more information please go to http://www.worldorphanweek.com
Research for the University of East Anglia
As part of a research project the University of East Anglia are looking for parents of children under 16 to complete a survey. The survey takes about 45 minutes (usually less). As it has to be done face-to-face, the survey would be done at the parent's home at a time that is convenient to them. As a token of thanks the University of East Anglia will pay £5 to the parent for their time and £5 to SOS Children. To take part contact Katie Bolt on k.bolt@uea.ac.uk or call 0785 9934 259. There is a PDF document for you to view with more details about the questionnaire.