December 21 2014

Haiti gets its third SOS Children's Village

Five years after the earthquake that devastated the country, SOS Children's Villages' support for Haiti continues with the inauguration of a third Children’s Village to provide families and homes for children who lost parental care.

21 December 2014 – Expanding our work in providing loving homes and family-based care for children who have lost parental care, SOS Children’s Villages is set to inaugurate its third children’s village in Haiti. The newest village is in Les Cayes, in the southern part of Haiti. The opening ceremony is set for 10 January 2015, five years after the earthquake that killed 200,000 people on the island.
 

SOS Children's Villages in Haiti actively supports children and communities in Santo, near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien in the north, and now also in Les Cayes, in the south. Map: SOS Children's Villages
“The completion of this new SOS Children’s Village underscores our organisation’s long-term commitment to the social development of Haiti, five years after the devastating earthquake. Most importantly, it illustrates the core value of SOS Children’s Villages: an unwavering commitment to providing vulnerable children with a loving home,’ said SOS Children’s Villages International COO Hanne Rasmussen. “We’re very grateful to the many donors and partners, including the government of Haiti, who have helped us make this Children’s Village a reality,” she added.

The SOS Children's Village Les Cayes was made possible thanks to funds from a variety of donors, as well as the support of SOS Children’s Villages member associations in Sweden, Germany, Norway, France, Austria, the USA, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
 
The ongoing SOS Children’s Villages Emergency Programme for Haiti, launched after the 2010 earthquake, includes a series of construction, reconstruction and renovation projects. With the help of its donors and partners, SOS Children’s Villages has also made significant investments in Haiti’s educational system, with the construction or renovation of eight schools. In addition, SOS Children's Villages supports community centres, family strengthening programmes, vocational training centres and its three Children's Villages in Santo/Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien and Ley Cayes.

Read about how SOS Children's Villages is working to improve education opportunities in Haiti.


SOS Mother Nicole (last) and her children are one of the families now moving into a brand new home at SOS Children's Village Les Cayes. Photo: Danielle Pereira

SOS Children’s Village Les Cayes, the newest, will comprise private family homes for 14 SOS families and one house for the 13 SOS ‘aunts’, who help the SOS mothers look after the children. The village is planned to support up to 135 children.

Apart from the SOS mothers and aunts SOS Children's Village Les Cayes will be staffed by social workers, two family facilitators, one child development assistant, an administrative secretary, and Village Director Volny Etienne.

An office for administration and a house for overnight visitors to the village are also on site. With almost 26,000 m2 in land, the SOS Children’s Village Les Cayes includes ample play, recreation and communal areas for its 14 families.