SOS Children’s Village Latur enters its 25th year of existence

Serving the earthquake devastated parentless children and distressed families for 25 years September 29, 1993! One devastating earthquake! Many lives affected! One helping hand! New Delhi, October 4, 2018: SOS Children’s Village Latur was established in 1994 in response to the disastrous earthquake that struck Latur in September, 1993. A lot of children were left parentless and homeless during the calamity. Emergency relief by SOS India was provided in the affected area and help was given to as many people as possible. This September marked the beginning of the 25th year of its continuous and dedicated service in the earthquake hit Latur region. In all these years, it has resurrected many affected families and abandoned children through its Family Based Care (FBC) and Family Strengthening Programme (FSP), respectively. Currently 139 parentless and abandoned children are residing in 12 family homes in its Children’s Village in Latur. The importance of a loving family in ensuring holistic upbringing and emotional wellbeing of a child is a well-established fact. And that is how SOS India’s FBC programme is designed, to provide a family-like environment to once parentless and abandoned children, enabling them to grow into confident, self-reliant and responsible citizens. SOS Mothers ensure that good values are inculcated in their children as their protector, disciplinarian and friend. They form the core of the SOS ethos and the sole reason that makes SOS India stand out amongst others. As a result of their dedication and hard work, today, a total of 171 youth (91 boys and 77 girls) are well-settled in various walks of life as engineers, doctors, teachers, IT and hospitality industry professionals etc. Shakuntala, an SOS Mother at Latur Village, has raised 30 children, till date, out of which, six of her sons and four daughters are settled and married. There are many such wonderful stories to share. Sonu was the first girl from Latur Village to take up engineering as a profession. Archana , Jyoti, Shivaji, Padma are amongst many such children who have been impacted by the nurturing and holistic environment at this Village. Anuja Bansal, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India said, “It is an important milestone for us to look back at our work in the last 24 years since the devastating earthquake in Latur. This journey would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our co-workers and goodwill of all our sponsors and donors who have contributed generously over the years, impacting lives of children in Latur. It fills my heart with immense pride to see the growth of our children and how they have not let any obstacle deter them from fulfilling their dreams. Apart from the current 139 children growing up in the Village under our FBC, we are trying our best to cater to the needs of 940 children from 398 vulnerable families under our FSP.” Further, she added, “We make every possible effort to empower children by regularly conducting workshops on personality development, English communication and vocational training to develop entrepreneurial and soft skills in them, etc.”