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Looking eastwards from a section of the National Highway 1A at Nhon Binh ward, Quy Nhon city, we’ll see the Quy Nhon SOS Children Village with new houses painted red. The village is going to be put into operation in the next 3 months. It is the place where orphan and abandoned children in Binh Dinh will enjoy affectionate care as a compensation for their physical and mental disadvantages.
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Perspective of Quy Nhon SOS Children Village. Photo by Nguyen Suong
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4 principles of the village
As planned, Quy Nhon SOS Children Village would have 14 family houses with a total capacity for 140 children. 1 family house had already built while the rest 13 houses was in final stage of construction, said Director of the village Nguyen Xuan Cuong as he took me around the village. Each of the houses would have a gross floor area of 130m2, comprising one ground floor and one upper floor. The ground floor was designed for a living room, a room for SOS mothers, a kitchen, a dining room and a rest room. The upper floor had 3 class rooms and a rest room for the children only.
Besides, the village would also have another important components such as guest houses and residential houses for the SOS aunts (As in regulations, there would be 4-6 SOS aunts who help the SOS mothers in upraising the children as well as other logistic tasks at the village), a kindergarten, administration building, a house for the village director, a staff house, a doorkeeper house, garage, a room which serve as a place for the doorkeepers and drivers to have a rest, a water tower. Among them, the kindergarten was the most notable work with its 6 classes and a capacity for 180-200 children in total, in which 80-90% would be beneficiaries from the outside. In other words, local people in neighbourhood would also benefit.
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee signed a decision to establish the Quy Nhon SOS Children Village which would accommodate, bring up and care for orphan and abandoned children on basis of 4 pedagogic principles: the SOS mothers, the brothers and sisters, the family house and the SOS Children's Village. These were main principles of the SOS Children Villages in general, said Director Cuong. The SOS mothers should develop maternal love with the children and play the key role in the families. The children should love one another like brothers and sisters in families; consider the village their own loving home. The families should together build good relationship one another, between the villages with outside communities.
Quy Nhon SOS Children Village was sponsored by SOS Children Village International through Vietnam SOS Children Village. The children would be brought up until their graduation from universities, colleges or vocational schools. After the graduation, they would be assisted with money in the first 3 months of job seeking and in the first 3 years of working. The financial support would be provided on monthly basis.
Hard to recruit the SOS mothers and children
Quy Nhon SOS Children Village was facing a challenging problem: recruitment of the SOS mothers and aunts, the key persons, said Mr. Cuong. The village had been cooperating with the provincial authorized bodies and agencies in recruitment of the SOS mothers and aunts in accordance with guidance from Vietnam SOS Children Village’s Steering Committee. Accordingly, the mothers and aunts had to be single women at the age of 30-45, have affectionate love towards the children, and be voluntarily willing to dedicate their whole life for the upbringing of the disadvantaged children. Because the criteria were rather “strict”, the village had so far recruited 10 candidates. They were all participating in a training course at Vietnam SOS Children Village’s Training Centre. The training for the SOS mothers and aunts would be held regularly during their working at the village.
At the end of June, Quy Nhon SOS Children Village and the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs did a survey on orphan and abandoned children. As a result, there were 609 orphan children and 70 abandoned children all over the province. The village sent notice about its reception of children. Yet, only the mountainous district of Van Canh sent a list of its needy children.
During the preparation for its operation, Quy Nhon SOS Children Village had received utmost help from the relevant provincial bodies and agencies, said Mr. Cuong. Yet, the model was probably so new in Binh Dinh that few people actually heard and understood about the village. That was the reason why the recruitment of the SOS key personnel and the target beneficiary children was overdue. In addition, unfavourable weather caused construction delay.
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- The construction of Quy Nhon SOS Children Village started in October 2009 and expectedly finishes in December 2010. The village will be put into operation in February 2011.
- Criteria of the target beneficiary children: orphan and abandoned children at the age of 0-10, physically and mentally healthy, contract no infectious diseases, unhandicapped.
- At the second stage of the construction, retirement homes for the SOS mothers and aunts, SOS Youth home (for adolescent boys when they finish the 9 grade class), a SOS workshop will be built.
* Any qualified and interested candidates for the SOS mothers and aunts, or any individuals, organizations and localities want send their children to the village please contact:
Quy Nhon SOS Children Village, cell 13, subward 2, Nhon Binh ward, Quy Nhon city.
Tel.: 056 3848540 or 0989 229 326, email: soscv.quynhon@sosvietnam.org |
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