SOS relies on the kindness and generosity of Canadians to be able to provide a home for the most vulnerable children around the world.
SOS Children's Villages in Bo
SOS Children's Village Bo is situated about 275 km south-east of Freetown, near the town of Bo.
It comprises ten family homes, the village director's house, co-worker accommodation, a multi-purpose hall, an open round hut, an administration and service area with a small clinic, two workshops and a playground. In May 1998, solar panels were installed so that the SOS Children's Village can generate its own electricity for lighting.
An SOS Kindergarten was opened at the same time as the SOS Children's Village. It consists of five classrooms, a Montessori room, a crèche and a multi-purpose hall. The kindergarten is open to children from the local community as well.
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary and Secondary School, which was opened in 1985, has included vocational school with many practical subjects since 1997. The school is only 500 m from the SOS Children's Village and is open to children from the local community.
It consists of nine classrooms (six primary school and three secondary school classes), dressmaker/tailor workshops, a physics and chemistry lab, a typing and computer lab, a library, a teaching kitchen and rooms for individual tutoring. In addition, there is a canteen, an administration and service area, an open round hut, co-worker accommodation and a playground. The school has a capacity of 300 students.
Around the age of 15, youths from SOS Children's Villages usually move to one of the three SOS Youth Facilities. With only one educator to take care of them, the youngsters are quite independent and have to take responsibility for their lives.
For youngsters from the SOS Children's Villages, moving to an SOS Youth Facility is usually the first step towards an independent life. SOS mothers, educators and village directors prepare the youngsters very carefully for this important step in their lives. Young people usually stay at the SOS Youth Facility until they have finished their education or training and found a job. This takes four years on average.
SOS Social Centre Bo (community outreach programme) provides food to all students of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary and Secondary School (about 300 at the moment), and in some cases also to their parents.
Our Impact
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The SOS Kindergarten in Sierra Leone are a fundamental building block for the early development needs including, intellectual and social skills for children. |
1 KINDERGARTENS | 248 Kindergarten students |
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SOS Social Centres in Sierra Leone aim is to help families, in particular women and children, living in communities neighbouring the SOS Children's Villages to gradually escape from poverty, and to help young people become self-reliant. |
2 SOCIAL CENTRES | 728 Beneficiaries |
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The SOS Children's Village in Sierra Leone provides loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children |
1 VILLAGES | 129 Orphaned and Abandoned Children |
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The SOS Youth Facilities in Sierra Leone provides youth with a loving environment where they learn to transition into independent living and to expand their education |
1 YOUTH FACILITIES | 9 Youths in our Care |
Our Impact