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SOS Children's Charity: Autumn 2006 Newsletter

22/08/2006

Children in a South African township

A South African journey

SOS Children’s Villages started working in South Africa in the early 1980s, supporting children living in the townships. The first SOS Children’s Village at Ennerdale, 20 miles south of Johannesburg, opened in 1982. Children across black, Indian and white communities have a family with SOS Children in our seven South African villages. These are supported by seven SOS Nursery Schools, one SOS Primary School, eight SOS Social Centres and one SOS Medical Centre.

All SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa help to support families in the local communities who are affected by HIV/AIDS.

Poverty and illness mean that many parents and guardian struggle to care for their children. SOS Children supports these families by providing training so the parents can find employment, and by paying school fees so the children can go to school.

Rustenburg is one of the children's villages funded by the ‘6 Villages for 2006’ campaign. It will consist of 10 family houses and will be home to 100 orphaned and abandoned children. SOS Children will run a family programme within the Rustenburg area to strengthen the capacity of families to protect and care for their own children. Rustenburg, located in South Africa’s North West Province, is soon to see its Royal Bafokeng Stadium play host to the one of the world’s greatest sporting children events, the next FIFA World Cup in 2010 - the first to be held in Africa.

Three girls at SOS Children's Village Cape Town

South African Shopping List

  • £1.25 pays school fees for a month at an SOS Nursery School

  • £9.30 pays for a child’s medicines, food, school fees and clothes for a month as part of an SOS AIDS outreach programme

  • £100 will fund an SOS computer training programme at an SOS Social Centre

  • £1,200 will pay a year’s medical costs at an SOS Children’s Village

Back to Autumn 2006 Newsletter Contents.

Relevant Countries: South Africa.

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