SOS Children’s Village & FSP Mothers together celebrate International Family Day

NEW DELHI - May 17, 2013 - PRLog -- New Delhi, May 15, 2013: - SOS Children’s Villages of India celebrated International Family Day with FSP (Family Strengthening Programme) Mothers and SOS Mothers at Greenfields.  The event started with a warm reception given to the Chief Guest and the Donor Partner who were taken for a family visit. A welcome address briefed the audience on the SOS concept and the importance of International Family Day. The reason for it being celebrated was also talked about to enlighten the nature of the occasion.

The International Family Day highlights the importance of families and complements the SOS concept of providing family based care to parentless children across India. Also, it aims at encouraging children  to share domestic responsibilities, fostering equality and working together to further the development of the family. Family constitutes the basic unit of society. Thus, possible assistance and protection should be given to families so that they fully understand their responsibilities within the community. Also, for a child his/her family plays an essential role for him/her to be a productive and liable citizen of the country. Family not only plays an important role in the communication of the cultural traditions from one generation to another, but also acts as a socio-cultural and education agency. The holistic development of a child under parental supervision helps the child develop better reasoning and motors skills, higher IQ levels and a much better health which in turn makes him/her into a productive citizen of the country. SOS’ Family Based Care model likewise aims to provide a family like environment to a vulnerable child and believes that doing so will help in building a strong nation with healthy and happy children.

Commemorating the International Family Day, an SOS Mother shared her story of how different and special the SOS family was for her. Consequently, an SOS grown up girl also shared her side of the story, talking about her role in the family as an elder sister. To further the joy of the event, a song on family was performed by the students of Greenfields. The FSP members also shared their experience as an FSP Mother spoke of how she reshaped her family after getting into the SOS Family FSP, followed by an FSP boy sharing his role as an elder brother in the family. Thereafter, an SOS Family Play was also presented as a part of the event.

Towards the closure of the event, both the Chief Guest and the Donor Partner conveyed their experience through a speech. Applauding their presence, SOS Village presented the guests with a memento and thanked all the members who shared their role with the audience.

Mr. Rakesh Jinsi, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India , based in the National office at Delhi “ The families in SOS children’s villages are living proof of how family bonding can transcend all biological ties. Creating families for parentless children in the SOS children’s village and preventing underprivileged children outside our villages from losing their family ties is the driving spirit behind SOS’s work. Celebrating together with both these communities is indeed a befitting way of symbolizing the ideology of the International Family Day”

About SOS Village India:

SOS Children’s Villages in India provides parentless and abandoned children with a nurturing environment where they can grow up to their full potential. Founded in 1964 by Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, it is a part of the worldwide SOS Children’s Village movement and a member of SOS Children’s Villages International, the umbrella organization. Today, there are 33SOS Children’s Villages including the newly set up village in Tirupati, 122 allied projects like Kindergartens, Hermann Gmeiner Schools, Social and Medical Centres, Vocational Training Centres and Outreach Initiatives spread across the country. SOS-India now constitutes the largest operations in the worldwide SOS movement spread across 133 countries. Based on the unique concept of Family Based Care (FBC), SOS Children's Villages creates a home-like environment offering love, dignity, solace and hope.