SOS Children’s Villages has always taken the view that education is a basic human right, regardless of age, gender or socio-economic background.

The organisation works hard to provide schooling from kindergarten up to vocational training at the secondary school level within their village environments.  They believe in education’s ability to break the cycle of poverty and create autonomous communities.

While this principle is proudly espoused by SOS Villages, it is not always consistent with the local social norms of the varied locations SOS Village schools.  However, setting up the villages and providing education to girls and boys and providing those whose education has been disrupted with learning opportunities provides a great example to local populations and serves to challenge the ideals that restrict or even prohibit education.

The latest estimates indicate that around 93 million children worldwide go without any type of formal education. Whether this be due to politics that exclude minorities, a lack of money to pay school fees and buy uniforms or any other number or reasons this number is far too high.

SOS has had wonderful successes with providing education not just to children within the villages, but to locals as well.  For example, their 2009 programme to provide 10 days free tuition to young people in Mombasa, Kenya was met with great enthusiasm and was attended by some 123 people.

While in Malawi the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary school has used its resources to hire special needs teachers for those children who are developmentally impaired in some way.

These are just a few highlights from SOS Children’s Villages’ “Learning for Life” initiative which pledges to invest more into educational facilities than ever before between the years 2009-2016.

SOS Children’s Villages have kindergarden, secondary as well as vocational schools throughout the world, all working towards a world where education is a right, not a privilege.

UPDATE

SOS has just announced that Luxury handbag designer House Louis Vitton has recently singed a five year, global contract with SOS Children’s Villages.  The agreement is aimed at supporting the work of SOS Children’s Villages everywhere, with a specific focus on education and learning.  The company is committed to helping children everywhere gain access to an education and has been vocal about large company’s responsibility to help in the fight to reduce poverty.

Yves Carcelle, President & CEO of Louis Vuitton comments: “Transmitting savoir-faire and heritage is one of our founding cornerstones. Preserving the past and preparing for a brighter future are fundamental values that have inspired us for more than 150 years. Today, we are proud and pleased to be starting out on this new voyage with SOS Children’s Villages.”

Below you may choose to help a child gain access to education by country, or simply though SOS Children’s Villages.

SPONSOR A CHILD WITH SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES

SPONSOR A CHILD IN AFRICA

SPONSOR A CHILD IN INDIA

SPONSOR A CHILD IN CHINA

SPONSOR A CHILD IN ASIA

SPONSOR A CHILD IN HAITI

SPONSOR A CHILD IN AMERICA

SPONSOR A CHILD IN PAKISTAN