Frequently Asked Questions

Here you can find some questions and answers regarding various aspects of our work. Following the input we receive from our visitors, this questions list will constantly grow. Which children are eligible for admission to an SOS Children's Village? Generally speaking, children up to ten years old can be admitted. Siblings may be older. The SOS Children's Villages admit children who have either lost one parent or both or whose parents cannot provide for them any longer for various reasons; most of the SOS children belong to the latter category. Who decides whether a child is admitted or not? The SOS Children's Village association of the respective country defines the criteria of admittance within the scope of the guidelines set up by SOS-Kinderdorf International and according to the economic and social situation within the country. The decision whether to admit a child is then made by a committee consisting of the village director, the SOS mother, social workers, and sometimes the national director, in co-operation with the authorities. This committee decides whether a child is physically and mentally fit to be admitted to one of our villages and whether the child is in need of a permanent home. The child admission process ensures a careful and professional assessment of each child before placement in an SOS Children's Village family. This makes sure that only children who can benefit best find a new home. Priority is as follows: orphans children with only one parent a) children without mother b) children without father children whose parents cannot provide for them Siblings have priority in any case. How many children does one SOS Children's Village family have? The families in industrialized nations are usually smaller than the ones in developing countries. A typical SOS Children's Village family in an industrialized country consists of three to six children while families in developing countries usually have seven to ten children. Contrary to many state-run children's homes, SOS Children's Villages does not separate siblings. That is why some families might temporarily have more children. According to which educational concept are the children brought up? There is one general educational concept applied at SOS Children's Village facilities all over the world: the SOS family child care model, with a minimum level of educational goals. These goals depend on the child's age when admitted to the village. The so-called "four principles" - the SOS mother, the sisters and brothers, the family house and the SOS Children's Village - form the basis and the framework of the concept of our work at the SOS Children's Villages. The foremost of these principles is the mother, or mother-centred care. Apart from all that, the children's upbringing depends on their cultural and ethnical background, their religion and on the people involved in their education. According to which religion are the children brought up? Each child is brought up according to the belief (s)he has taken over from her/his parents. If the parents' faith is not known, the child is brought up according to the religion which is most common in the particular culture. In many SOS Children's Villages, different faiths are represented. What are the criteria for the selection of SOS mothers? Age: between 24 and 40 years Education: if possible nine years of compulsory education; in countries where this standard is usually not reached by women, each SOS Children's Village has to make sure that the future mothers are also provided with some basic education (literacy) during the special training they receive before they can become SOS mothers. Marital status: single, widowed, separated or divorced (in some regions only women without children of their own) State of health: in good physical and mental health Aptitude for this kind of work and life (independent, practical, patient, optimistic, willing to learn, self-assured and self-confident, cheerful, good at housekeeping, able to cope with strain, capable of relating to others, showing possibilities of further development...) Willingness to deal with difficult children in a loving and supporting way, and to take responsibility; readiness to be there for the children practically around the clock for a long time What kind of training do SOS mothers receive? Each SOS Children's Village association has the duty to provide theoretical and practical training for prospective SOS mothers in order to prepare them for their job. The theoretical training programme should take at least three months with subsequent refresher and reflection courses (every other year at the minimum). In European countries, the theoretical training usually takes a year. Why are there no SOS fathers or couples? Since the beginning of SOS Children's Villages, we have never had any bad experiences due to the fact that single women are hired as SOS mothers. These women are willing to make the children and youngsters part of their own lives and be the person they can relate to most closely over a considerable period of time. However, some SOS mothers do get married. In this case, the husband is integrated into the SOS Children's Village family so that he can look after the children and youngsters together with his wife. We always try to find an appropriate solution for each individual case. There is no doubt that married couples can be a perfect alternative to single mothers, especially as far as the long-term education of, and care for, children and youngsters is concerned. The many private foster families are a case in point. Over the past few years, some married couples have taken responsibility for SOS Children's Village families in a number of European countries. However, with married couples there can also be quite a number of problems, ranging from tensions between their own children and the SOS children to separation or divorce of the couple. Apart from that, it is easier to find unmarried women willing to take responsibility for an SOS Children's Village family.