May Round Up
1. SOS Children’s Villages of India receives the highest CRISIL Rating:
SOS Children’s Villages of India has received the highest CRISIL Rating of ‘VO 1A’ by CRISIL for the year 2017-18 for its outstanding vision, work and performance in relation to other non-profit organizations. Our rating has been upgraded from our last year’s grading, which was ‘VO 2A’.
SOS Children’s Villages of India is the first international NGO in India to ever obtain such ratings. The CRISIL grading symbolizes the ‘Very Strong Delivery Capability and High Financial Proficiency’ of a VO (Voluntary Organization) in comparison to other VOs. The ratings are independent opinions of CRISIL and are adjudged on the basis of the relative goal achieving capability of an organization.
2. SOS India inaugurates its first Model Village Project at Reha in Bhuj:
SOS India has launched its first Model Village Project at Reha in Bhuj under its Family Strengthening Programme; Reha Village is the pilot project under this programme. It is a new intervention structured to create sustainable rural communities. The scheme focuses on converting regular villages into well developed, modern villages. This would be aided by the joint contribution of SOS India and other partners in five years.
The inauguration ceremony was a huge success and witnessed the presence of Chief Guest Shri Vasanbhai Ahir, Parliament Secretary, Reha Community Leader, Mr. S. Sandilya, President, SOS Children’s Villages of India, Ms. Anuja Bansal, Secretary General of SOS India, SOS CV Bhuj family members and the families of the Reha Village Community.
3. Sneha Bhuyan from SOS Village Guwahati receives the Rajya Puraskar issued by The Bharat Scouts and Guides:
Sneha Bhuyan is an extremely talented girl from SOS Children’s Villages Guwahati who has been awarded the Rajya Puraskar issued by The Bharat Scouts and Guides. She is now studying in class XI and recently passed her class X board examination with a CGPA of 8.4. Sneha has been an all-rounder in school and has won laurels in various different fields.
Rajya Puraskar Award is also known as the Governor’s Award. It is the highest honour given to scouts and guides at the state level and recognizes their service to mankind through the Bharat Scouts and Guides Movement worldwide.
4. SWISS International Airlines contributes in the renovation of SOS Children’s Village Bawana:
SWISS International Airlines contributed to the renovation of 20 houses in SOS Children’s Village Bawana. The village was reconstructed with the support and donations made by SWISS and its passengers; the official inauguration of the renovated village was celebrated with a ceremony, which was attended by the management of SOS Children’s Villages of India and a delegation from SWISS International Air Lines.
In addition, funds were raised by the SWISS staff personnel under the SWISS’ in-house fundraising drive Bikes for India; they gifted 41 bicycles to family homes in SOS CV Faridabad, Bawana and Greenfields. The amount raised by the staff was doubled up by SWISS International Airlines eventually. SOS CV Bawana comprises of 16 family homes, accommodating 118 children in total.
5. Mother’s Day Celebrations at SOS Children’s Villages:
Celebrated on May 14th, Mother’s Day was celebrated in all SOS Children’s Villages across India. In Srinagar, a full day outing for all mothers and aunts was organized where they were taken to the famous Sindh View Park and arrangements for their lunch were made. In Kolkata, mothers were surprised by the combined efforts of their children, wherein they started the day by cooking breakfast for them; a day full of celebrations followed after the morning surprise. In SOS Village Guwahati, all mothers and aunts were taken for a movie screening at the cinema hall, followed by lunch; visit to Gandhi Mandap and Kasturba Ashram were also organized and were part of the day long celebrations.
Cultural programmes and merry making were witnessed in all SOS Children’s Villages across India. Messages from the President and the General Secretary of SOS India and were read aloud for all mothers, aunts and co-workers in all villages; this was also accompanied by the screening of a special Mother’s Day Documentary to pay tribute to all our mothers. The documentary depicts the journey and life of a mother in SOS Children’s Villages.
Click here to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTu_PXo9CCw
SOS India celebrated the spirit of Motherhood with Hella India at SOS Greenfields. The event marked the presence of Mr. Ramashankar Pandey, MD, Hella India. The cultural presentation by children of SOS Greenfields made the day memorable. Experience sharing of mothers was also part of the event.
6. Youth from SOS Faridabad observe World No Tobacco Day by raising awareness about the ill effects of Tobacco:
May 31st is observed as the World No Tobacco Day across the world. On this occasion, youth from SOS Children’s Village Faridabad decided upon raising awareness among people about the negative effects of consuming tobacco and conducted an anti-smoking campaign. The campaign included a rally which was initiated from 31 SLF Mall and extended to the industrial area in the city. Interaction was done amongst people on individual and group level about negative effects of Tobacco on the environment and how it threatens women, children and livelihood. Our message involved convincing people to quit smoking to lead better and healthy lives. In addition, this year the World Health Organisation is highlighting the impact tobacco consumption has on the development of a nation and its related economic cost.
7. SOS Mother Geeta Singh from SOS Village Khajurikalan receives the Helmut Kutin Award:
SOS Mother Geeta Singh from SOS CV Khajurikalan has been honoured with the Helmut Kutin Award for the year for her selfless service in the lives of disabled children. Ms. Geeta Singh started her career as an SOS Aunt at Mothers’ School Faridabad in the year 2003. She graduated to the position of Mother at SOS CV Khajurikalan in the year 2004. She has been a caring mother to 12 of her special children.The Helmut Kutin Award recognizes performances of all co-workers of SOS India. Evaluations are made keeping in mind the difference an SOS Co-worker makes in the life of the children and families in SOS India. As a criterion, only employees of SOS Children’s villages can be nominated; the nomination is then followed by an online voting process where all co-workers are invited to contribute.
8. Class X and XII Board Examination Results- SOS Children’s Villages
(a) Results from SOS Villages: Children at SOS Villages are constantly motivated to do well in life. Focused efforts are made in order to help children realize their highest potential. This year, SOS India is very proud to announce the exemplary academic results of children from class X and XII.
- In class X, Sneha form SOS Nagapattinam has scored the highest marks with 97%
- In class XII CBSE Board, Prabhat from SOS Greenfields scored the highest with 95%. Prabhat has cleared the JEE Mains and has also taken the JEE Advanced Exam.
- In class XII State Board, G. Dhanlaxmi from SOS Vishakhapatinam scored 96.5%
- 12 children in class X and 12 children in class XII scored above 85%
(b) Results from Hermann Gmeiner Schools: Results of children studying in Hermann Gmeiner Schools have filled us all with joy. The overall pass percentage of our schools this year has been 99%. Following is the result of Hermann Gmeiner Schools in the below listed areas:
| Varanasi | Bhimtal | Faridabad | Jammu |
| 100% | 99% | 99% | 97% |
9. Programme Update
- SOS CV Bhopal, Bawana and Latur organised a workshop on résumé writing, interview skills for youth going for employment for the first time. External resource persons were used for this workshop.
- Bal Panchayat is a concept that provides children in our FSP communities a platform to discuss and debate on issues that affect their lives in order to have the necessary changes made for future.
- Bal Panchayat members from Rourkela met the Commissioner of Rourkela Municipality and submitted a representation for getting Caste Certificate for the children. Commitments have been made. This event was covered widely by Oriya News Paper “Dharitri” and “Samaja”.Bal Panchayat members from FSP Kolkata took out a rally on 26th May against use of Tobacco in the Community.
10. SOS Education Update
- Under the Social Impact Programme, Hermann Gmeiner Schools (Varanasi, Faridabad, Bhimtal and Jammu) adopted 3 villages for adult literacy. Many adults learned to read and write in their mother tongue, count & do the basic operations in mathematics. They were made aware about the importance of educating girl child and their right to vote. They were also taught how to use an ATM.
- A Mobile App for Hermann Gmeiner School has been launched to improve communication with parents. Parents are able to get daily updates like attendance, events, holidays, exams etc. on their phones.
- HGS Techno Libraries or Digital libraries have been set up in all Hermann Gmeiner Schools. So far 2000 books have been uploaded.
- B.Ed. College: The College got accreditation from NAAC
- Nursing School: The first batch of Para Medical started
