Located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, Bhimtal is a town well known for attracting tourists. Even though the service and industry sectors in Uttarakhand have grown, the major portion of people still continues to rely on agriculture for their livelihood. The city is mostly rural, and residents experience a lack of access to proper health and education facilities. Poverty rate in the state has always been on the higher end, because of which parents are unable to meet the needs of their children.  Due to this, a lot of parents end up abandoning their children, who are seen becoming victims of human trafficking.

SOS Children’S Village Bhimtal

SOS Children’ Village in Bhimtal has been present in the town since 1963, but came into effect in 1984. At present, the village is sheltering 138 children in 12 Family Homes, which are run by 11 SOS Mothers and 5 Mother Trainees. Children and youth here are enrolled in various schools and colleges, respectively, and we make sure they do not miss out on their education. A number of workshops are also conducted more than often, where children are made aware about issues like child abuse and prevention, sex education and child protection, dental health, hygiene, child protection policy, adolescence sex education and HIV/AIDS. Career Counseling sessions are also organized, where students are given the assistance they require for their future.

While children are well taken care of, mothers at SOS India are also given regular training in order to enhance their knowledge about computers, basic English, adolescents, HIV/AIDS and self-management.

SOS Youth

At present, the total number of youth within SOS India in Bhimtal is 91. While one of the Youth Homes is 500m away from our SOS Children’ Village, the other one is located at a distance of 8kms. Many of our youth boys have performed well at the school level, with commendable results in class 10^th and 12^th. Besides academics, our youth has also been seen getting involved in extra-curricular activities, where some of them have shown an exemplary performance.

Our SOS India village at Bhimtal comprises of a Training Centre which has about 100 students per batch. The outcome of training given here has been positive with 100% placement till now. In 2016, this center organized activities that included workshops on Teaching & Learning in Digital Era, Effective Management and School Administration. While students are given their share of training, teacher trainees are also made aware about the advantages of CCE- Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation & its application.

(A) Hermann Gmeiner School
The Hermann Gmeiner School located at Bhimtal, is a Senior Secondary Co-educational English medium day cum residential school, with separate boarding facilities for both girls & boys. In 2016, the strength of the school was 974. In the same year, a number of 127 students appeared for the Senior School Certificate Examination, out of which 73 secured the 1^st position. The pass percentage for the same was 95%. 110 students appeared for the Secondary School Examination, for which the pass percentage was 100%.  8 students got a CGPA of 10, and were awarded with merit certificates by CBSE for their outstanding performances.

Family Strengthening Programme (FSP)

The Family Strengthening scheme aims at rescuing children who’re on the verge of being abandoned. With the help of this programme, we reach out to families that are run by single mothers, and need assistance in supporting their children. SOS India also ensures that all families stay together and lead a happy-healthy life. At present, FSP Bhimtal has a total of 189 beneficiaries under its care, branching out from over 70 families.

In 2016 when Bihar faced a flood induced crisis, a relief operation was set up by SOS India to help people recover from their loss. 4200 families were supported and provided with relief material.

How to reach

1. The nearest Railway Station from Bhimtal is Kathgodham Railway Station, Uttarakhand, which is at a distance of 23.7 km from our SOS Village.

2. It is 57.4 km away from Pantnagar Airport, Uttarakhand