Entering a village

Photo: C.Treml Children coming to live in an SOS Children's Village have often suffered a great deal beforehand. They have to learn to laugh again, to make friends, to become confident. It can be a slow process. A new home for Klaus Hello, my name is Hanne. I am an SOS mother. Recently, there's been another addition to my family. Klaus is five years old, always up to something and a real charmer! Before he was admitted into the SOS Children's Village his life had been anything but easy. It will certainly take a while for him to come to grips with his past and to regain hope and courage. Klaus's parents live close to where the village is, but they are not able to really look after Klaus the way he needs it. There were some talks with the Youth Welfare Office, Klaus's parents, the village director and myself, before Klaus was admitted into the village. After everything had been settled, the Youth Welfare Office sent Klaus to the SOS Children's Village - to me. He will continue to see his parents regularly, and they will come to see him in the village, for it is very important for a child to know about his roots and his origins, and because they are his natural parents, after all. Arrival My children, Markus (6), Tania (11) and Anita (13) were dying to get to know Klaus, to find out what he looks like, what he likes and dislikes, what his favourite games are, what he has to tell them and so on. Before Klaus came to join our family, my other SOS children were prepared for the new arrival. It is very important, not only for Klaus, but for the other children, as well, to know what is going to happen so that the stability of the relationship they have is not endangered. Gradually, everybody grew curious, and we were all very happy when the moment finally arrived and Klaus came right into the living room. First acquaintance There he was, at last, a bit timid and a bit insecure. Of course, who wouldn't be in this situation!?! After he took off his coat, sat down at the dinner table and held tightly to his mug of hot chocolate, the other three, bursting with curiosity, could no longer hold back and started to pester him with questions and to crack jokes. This was their way of showing him how happy they were that he had finally arrived, and that he was very welcome in the family. Slowly, very slowly, Klaus began to open up and started to answer their questions properly, saying more than simply "mh" or "no". After half an hour, the children would no longer stay in their seats, and they began to show him round the house. "This is your room..." "This is your room, actually yours and Markus's", explains Tania. "Your bed is the bottom one, Markus has the top one, and my room is next door". Klaus had a grin on his face "The one with the football on the cover is my bed? Great, that's exactly the kind of football I have been wanting for a long time!" Bingo, I said to myself, I've done the right thing!