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| Map of Malawi |
Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, faces severe socio-economic problems such as food shortages, limited access to health care and sanitation and a high HIV/AIDS prevalence. Very few social support systems exist and basic social services are largely inadequate. SOS Children's Villages started to work in Malawi in 1992, when the cornerstone for the first village in Lilongwe, the country's capital, was laid. Over the course of the years, additional SOS Children's Village facilities were built in Lilongwe: an SOS Kindergarten and Hermann Gmeiner Primary School, a medical centre, which has already been extended twice, a secondary school, an SOS Youth Facility, an SOS Social Centre with its additional family strengthening programmes and an SOS Vocational Training Centre.
This comprehensive infrastructure caters well for the needs of the children, young people, and families of the surrounding community. Take a closer look at some of the facilities by accompanying Annie, James, Isaac and Evans:
So what exactly goes on at an SOS Kindergarten?
The day usually starts with the children being dropped off at kindergarten. They arrive at slightly different times depending on their parent's schedules. Most are happy to be at the kindergarten and, like Annie, leave their parents with hardly a backward glance as they run off to find their friends in the playground.
Annie moves into her group room where her teacher has already planned an activity in the library corner. Here the children can learn about books and how to handle them properly. Annie's friend Chrissie is doing puzzles next door. Because the children are young, they soon become restless and the noise level increases! Although they have to learn to concentrate, it is important that they do not get bored!
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| Children in the playground |
This is a good time for a change of pace and the groups go out into the playground. A favourite piece of equipment there is the rope bridge. Annie and Chrissie climb the low tower and have to wait their turn before they can cross safely. They are obviously having fun but they also learn to be patient with one another and to share the toys.
Annie and Chrissie would prefer to stay outside but they go back to their group rooms now. Time to do some art work! This is Chrissie's favourite as she wants to become a famous painter one day. Of course, all pictures are shown on the wall in the group rooms.
Now it's lunchtime - time to eat and time to play again on the equipment in the playground. Quite soon the children are tired from running around and they all gather for a sleep on blankets or mattresses in one of the rooms. It's a quiet time - enough for the teachers to catch their breath!
Just before the end of kindergarten, all the children return to their group rooms for some time together. The teacher might read them a story, or perhaps the children will share what they have been doing with their friends. Then it's time to be collected and go home. Annie and Chrissie say good-bye to each other, already looking forward to meeting tomorrow, and the kindergarten suddenly becomes quiet.
Special laptop
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| Showing off the new computer |
At the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary School James is studying. When he first came to SOS Children's Village Lilongwe, he seemed almost overwhelmed by his mental and physical disabilities. However, with the love and care of his SOS mother, counselling and the guidance and patience of both main stream and special needs teachers, James has truly blossomed and is now a well known "character" around the school and the village.
Academically, James has also made amazing progress which is in part down to his sheer determination to succeed at everything that he does. He can now construct coherent sentences, and is also able to present a logical argument and communicate. However, what James is mostly proud of is his new special needs computer. He is now able to write his name, solve some mathematical problems and write the alphabet. "I am very happy that I have this computer. I have improved at school. That is why I passed my exams last year. I have now started studying in Standard 4," he says proudly.
"Look! Can you see the three cats?" The computer has special learning programmes, where for example symbols are placed next to a number so that James learns the value of each number." Next to the number three are three cats. Another important aspect of this computer is its audio support system. Any letter or number that appears on the computer screen is spoken by the computer so that James sees how the numbers are written and how a particular word is spelled or pronounced. James has come a long way!
A step towards independence
So has Evans who lives in the SOS Youth Facility Lilongwe.
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| Evans proudly displays his graduation certificate |
When children who are growing up in an SOS family become teenagers, their SOS mother keeps a careful eye on them to monitor their sense of responsibility and independence. When she is sure that they are ready to start to spread their wings in the wider world, she and her colleagues begin to look at the possibility of the youngster moving into a youth house. This is a sort of 'half way' house before they become fully independent.
This is the stage that Evans has now reached as he explains:
"When children grow up, everyone expects that one day they will leave their parents and look after themselves. However, children who are not well prepared to take care of themselves will not manage to cope with the challenges that life presents. They will subsequently not manage to participate in the development of their communities and will also, because of ignorance and a lack of life skills, spoil their own lives.
To avoid this, SOS Children's Village Lilongwe organized a six-month youth orientation programme for all the young people who had been selected to move into the youth houses. The decision is made based on merit and level of maturity and it is something that all of us try to do achieve as soon as possible!
I am one of the proud young people who attended the orientation programme. We covered a lot of topics like hygiene, love, the importance of education and vocational training, financial management, budgeting and HIV/AIDS.
The highlight was the day the village organized a graduation ceremony for us and marked the end of the orientation programme and our stay in the family houses. What fascinated me was the fact that our mothers danced so much yet their faces were wet with tears. I believe they were tears of happiness.
Now, here I am, in the youth house, leading a semi-independent life, and managing my own life!"
From Lilongwe to India
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| Isaac at work on a project at the training centre |
The last person to be visited is Isaac, a young man who was trained at the SOS Vocational Training Centre. He graduated with a certificate in bricklaying in the middle of 2008, allowing him to work as a foreman on a construction site.
Kenneth Nkhonjera, facility head of the training centre, recalls what happened: "I am sometimes approached by businesses looking to recruit employees and this is how I was able to put Isaac and a business man in touch. They needed someone technical to help them." The business man wanted to open a company that made soil stabilized bricks and concrete blocks and other masonry construction materials for sale to construction companies - a project that is taking a positive response to the global call to protect the environment and prevent the destruction of the ozone layer. Isaac was then sent to India for three months as part of his training.
Mr Nkhonjera is extremely proud of his graduates and especially of Isaac. "Bricklaying is seen as being as a course for those that have low academic qualifications but Isaac has proved it otherwise and students in the bricklaying field are now more motivated seeing their friend's success."
There are also SOS Children's Villages and additional facilities in Mzuzu, in the north of Malawi, and Blantyre in the south.