Stop Press...
14/06/2006
Around the World with SOS
Film stars Leonardo di Caprio (Titanic, Gangs of New York), Jennifer Connolly (A Beautiful Mind) and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) are currently filming “Blood Diamond” (2006) near SOS Children’s Village Maputo. Some of the children from the village were lucky enough to be extras in the film.
Tight security around the film means we do not have any pictures for this edition. “Blood Diamond” tells the story of a farmer, a smuggler and a syndicate of businessmen matching wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
Eight year old Bonamare, one of the budding stars, said “I used to watch movies on TV. I never thought I myself could be in a movie! It’s like a dream come true”
Nepal
Unrest in Kathmandu affects SOS Children’s Villages
Political unrest in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu brought the city to a standstill in early May. Curfews and limited transportation caused problems for SOS staff.
In early April all the SOS Schools in Nepalwere forced to close for three weeks due to the political tensions. Pokhara and Surket were particularly affected.
Over 3,500 children and women are part of our community support programmes in Nepal. Our assistance includes education for children, training for women and guardians, and, in serious cases, food parcels are handed out.
Malawi
Food aid in Malawi
At the end of April the emergency famine relief programme in Malawi came to an end. It had been running for six months and had provided over 3,200 families around Lilongwe and Mzuzu with monthly food parcels.
Drought and floods and subsequent poor harvests, an extremely high poverty rate and the HIV/AIDS pandemic led to a severe shortage in food in 2005. November to April is traditionally a time when food is sparse, even with a good harvest. The programme targeted households that were child-led or grandparent-led. SOS Children worked with local communities and organisations to identify the children and families in most need.
To avoid dependence on external aid officials from the Malawian Ministry of agriculture provided training opportunities to young adults in agriculture. Training, which took place ‘in the field’, involved learning how to grow and tend crops.
Indonesia
Earthquake Relief
At the end of May an earthquake with magnitude of 6.2 struck Yogyakarta, Indonesia which saw nearly 5,000 people killed and made over 200,000 homeless.
No one at the SOS Children’s Villages was directly affected. A team from the SOS Social Centre in Semarang helped victims in the immediate aftermath and temporary shelters were set up to those who had lost their homes.
As well as food, medicine and water-pumps being distributed to survivors, SOS Children provided doctors from the SOS Children’s Villages Lembang to support the medical needs at the temporary shelters.
SOS Children was one of the first organizations in Prambanan, to support the disaster relief.