‘Mothers’ take care of orphaned children for SOS

SOS Children’s Village International has more than 8,200 orphans and abandoned children living in 545 villages worldwide.

SOS Children’s Village in Irbid, Jordan. More than 82,000 orphaned, displaced and vulnerable children are currently living in 545 SOS villages worldwide. Courtesy SOS Children's Villages
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Abeer Dasooqi spends her mornings with other mothers in the SOS Children’s Village International in Bethlehem. They talk about their children and worry about how they are doing at school. At lunchtime, she excuses herself to prepare lunch before the younger children come home.

Ms Dasooqi, 52, is not married, but has been a parent most of her life. She has raised more than 40 children who call her every day to tell of a promotion, a love interest, or a problem at work. She says they do “not take a single step” without consulting her.

These children, once orphans or from broken homes, are now engineers, doctors and teachers.

“The best place for a child is with their family and this is what we aim for,” said Nicole Nassar, managing director of the Gulf Area office, a branch of SOS Children’s Village International.

SOS has an office in Dubai to support the UAE’s initiatives for abandoned and orphaned children.

According to Unicef, there are about 150 million orphans and abandoned children worldwide.

For more than 60 years, SOS Children’s Village International, founded in Austria, has made its mission to provide shelter for these children, and a home and a loving family.

More than 82,000 orphaned, displaced and vulnerable children are currently living in 545 SOS villages around the world. They are being raised by “mothers” who have devoted their lives to caring for them.

“They provide for these children who, because of circumstances, do not have a family,” Ms Nassar said. “Yes, there are orphanages that take in hundreds of children, but they don’t have a family-based approach. Every child needs at least one person to rely on. If they don’t have that then they will be suffering their whole life.”

The SOS villages have several houses, each with a mother who cares for five to 10 children. The children remain in her care until the age of 18, but continue to be under the auspices of SOS until they are able to live independently.

The mothers undergo rigorous training and first become “aunts” who assist before being hired full time. They spend most of the week with the children, but have an option to return to their homes at the weekend. Many opt to remain with the SOS children, or take them home, Ms Nassar said. In some countries there are also “fathers”, she said

SOS works closely with the community, and a majority of the children are referred to it by the government. As a rule, siblings are kept together until at least one reaches age 14, when the child must move to a youth home.

“They remain in touch with their mothers and SOS brothers and sisters, and their homes are close by, but we want them to gradually learn to be independent,” she said.

The children all attend school near their homes.

“Education is key to development,” Ms Nassar said. “However, in many countries there is no access to education, so we run our own schools for our children as well as the community.”

The organisation is primarily funded by individual private donations, with some government partnerships. Because most donors come from European countries and because of the fluctuating euro, SOS fears it might have to shut down some of its operations.

“It is a lot of costs and it’s long-term cost,” Ms Nassar said.

“We do our best, but it’s hard for us to do it on our own. We are, after all, only one organisation.

“We need partnerships and more support. If we join hands I’m sure there will not be a single child without a home.”

salnuwais@thenational.ae