SOS Emergency Relief Programmes

 

SOS Children's Villages' emergency relief programs are  humanitarian responces which are carried out quickly and adaptively by SOS Children's Villages in order to help suffering people in areas affected by war, crisis or disaster.

SOS Children's Villages makes use of its existing infrastructure and presence in many countries and regions in its efforts to provide the people affected with urgently needed help in the most efficient way possible. Cooperation with other relief organizations such as ICRC, UNHCR and UNICEF as well as local and governmental authorities has enabled us to respond in the most effective, coordinated way possible when disaster strikes.

In times of crisis or disaster, SOS responds in line with its mandate working as quickly as possible to meet the urgent needs of children and their families. Over the past decades, SOS Children's Villages has set up food supply centres in famine- and drought-stricken areas on numerous occasions.  If the need persists beyond the initial crisis, SOS’s commitment to those who we help is reflected by the creation of long-term relief and support in those areas.  

SOS responds in the aftermath of natural disasters: SOS has provided emergency accommodation and building material for reconstruction. War refugees and war orphans found safety and security in premises rented out or

SOS Provided these Fishing Boats to Fishermen who had lost their livelihoods after the Tsunami

Photo: Mr D. Sansoni

newly built by SOS Children’s Villages. SOS has built clinics, provided medical care, vaccination, and epidemic control programs. Children living in crisis areas have received schooling, therapeutic treatment, access to clean water, relief supplies, and food parcels.

 

In disasters of a larger magnitude, SOS Children's Villages focuses on providing safety and security to abandoned children by taking them into SOS Children's Villages on a temporary or permanent basis. If the need is such that the capacities of existing SOS Children's Villages facilities are not sufficient, SOS Emergency Relief Programs often lead to the construction of new SOS Children's Villages.

Quite often, short or medium term emergency relief transitions into the construction of permanent facilities when the needs of the people are expected to endure for months or years. Emergency relief programs can easily translate into the construction of permanent facilities such as SOS social or medical centres. Relief recipients are also helped by special services aimed to improve their living conditions in the long run through training possibilities and advice centres.