SOS Children’s Villages Archives

April 2, 2024

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka, in partnership with One Galle Face Mall Colombo, is delighted to present the SOS Wonder Village event, an initiative aimed at raising funds and awareness for the well-being of children in need.

The SOS Wonder Village takes place at the Level 4 Playscape at One Galle Face Mall Colombo, on the 6th and 7th of April, Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

The SOS Wonder Village event at One Galle Face promises a day of fun, learning, and philanthropy. By participating, attendees will not only enjoy exciting activities but also contribute to the betterment of children’s lives.

The SOS Wonder Village event features an array of engaging activities for attendees of all ages. Visitors can enjoy free painting sessions for children, youth, and adults, and a variety of indoor games. Exciting prizes await competition winners. Participants will also be able to sponsor a child under the care of SOS Childrens’ Village by pledging a monthly or yearly donation which would be utilized for the child’s educational and living expenses. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about child safeguarding and enjoy children’s videos, cartoons, and songs.

Commenting on the project, Mr.Divakar Ratnadurai, National Director, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka said, “At SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka, our mission is to provide a loving family environment for children without parental care or at risk of losing it. Through the SOS Wonder Village event, we hope to not only raise funds but also increase awareness about the importance of child safeguarding and the support needed for these vulnerable children.”

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka has been actively engaged in providing a stable, family-like environment for children for 42 years, operating 06 Children’s Villages and caring for over 800 children. The organization is dedicated to extending assistance to more than 3700 children at risk of losing their parents through the Direct Family Empowerment Programme.

Sharing his thoughts on this partnership, Mr. Sid Solanki, Centre Director, One Galle Face stated, “We are delighted to partner with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka for this fun-filled yet meaningful event. One Galle Face and the Shangri-La Group is committed to our belief of “Do Good” and we look to support – initiatives that positively impact our community, through advocacy and positive action. We believe the SOS Wonder Village is uniquely positioned to enhance the quality of life and provide much needed access to education and other opportunities to many children in need.”

SOS Village Sri Lanka invites everyone to participate in the SOS Wonder Village and contribute in making a meaningful impact, spreading joy to those who need it most, creating a brighter future for every child.

For more information about SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka and the SOS Wonder Village event, please visit https://www.soschildrensvillages.lk/.

December 12, 2023

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December 2023, Colombo: SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka (SOSCV SL) has announced the relaunch of its transformative movement YouthCan! which focuses on employability and skills development, on December 7th, 2023 at the Ramada Hotel in Colombo, empowering youth and creating a brighter future for them.

The chief guest for the relaunch event was Roshan Mahanama, who is a Brand Ambassador for SOSCV SL.

YouthCan! is a global partnership established in 2017 by SOS Children’s Villages and private sector partners, with a mission to empower young people to transition successfully from school to work and independent life. The beneficiaries of YouthCan! are young people aged 14 and upwards who are seeking guidance, support, and training to enhance their employability and life skills.

The programme’s central mission is to support young people in various facets, focussing on empowerment through interventions including employability, skill development, personal growth, mentoring and vocational training support, with a special emphasis on those who lack adequate parental care.

Throughout the years, the main corporate collaborators, Akzonobel and DHL, have played an important role in making the initiative a success. Their dedicated involvement has forged impactful activities, including painting and infrastructure development projects, leadership and motivation programmes, career guidance, employee engagement programmes, and exposure visits, etc.

The YouthCan! relaunch comes at a critical juncture amidst economic challenges, reaffirming the programme’s commitment to uplift vulnerable youth driven by three critical needs; to provide timely skilling interventions amidst global economic crises impacting youth employment, to expand the partner ecosystem which is passionate about uplifting vulnerable youth, and to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration networks focused on empowering young people.

The programme aims to bring more partners on board, showcasing evidence of impact, and fostering new connections. SOSCV SL seeks to engage more partners to nurture young people’s journeys towards employment and self-sufficiency. In addition, the relaunch intends to galvanize nationwide action to equip youth with employability competencies and personalized mentoring support.

“We are proud of YouthCan! achievements in empowering young people through vital skill development and growth opportunities. As we relaunch the programme, we want to spotlight the tremendous positive change it continues to drive and invite more organizations to join our mission. The 2023 relaunch of YouthCan! will bring exciting new developments and initiatives to the forefront as we aspire to make a meaningful impact in the lives of young people and create a brighter future for them.” said Divakar Ratnadurai, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka.

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka provides family-based care for children, who have lost parental care and are at risk of losing parental care, in 8 locations island-wide through 172 family homes. For more information, visit www.soschildrensvillages.lk.

February 10, 2022

9 February 2022, Colombo, Sri Lanka – Standard Chartered has entered into a two-year partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka upon identifying the urgent need to reskill the youth of the country, especially amidst the challenges posed by the ongoing global pandemic. 350 youth from vulnerable backgrounds will be reskilled through the initiative, empowering them to face the future with relevant skills, whilst eliminating the possibility of these youngsters being exposed to socio-economic challenges.

The project was launched recently at the SOS Children’s Village in Piliyandala with the participation of Divakar Ratnadurai – National Director, Dhananjaya Perera – Programme Director, Kirthi Hettiarachchi – Deputy National Director and Janaka Wijekoon – Director National Youth Care of SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka and Anuk De Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing – Standard Chartered Sri Lanka along with the Project Coordinators of SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka and Standard Chartered officials.

Standard Chartered aims at uplifting the lifestyles of all youth beneficiaries of the project, with funding from the Standard Chartered Foundation. Over the 2-year partnership, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka will receive a sum of USD 290,445 from the Standard Chartered Foundation which will be utilised for the youth reskilling activities. The project will strengthen employability and entrepreneurial skills of the youth chosen from among young care leavers at SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka, and students of the vocational training centres, while enhancing resilience of young people in alternative care settings about to transition to independent living.

Speaking at the launch event, Divakar Ratnadurai, National Director, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka stated, “We thank the Standard Chartered Foundation in the UK for joining hands with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka through their ‘Futuremakers’ initiative in reskilling care leavers to find employment opportunities in this difficult time caused by the pandemic. Together, we hope to re-skill 350 care leavers in order to help them find opportunities in the job market. We as an organisation strongly believe in the need for empowering youth to face the future through reskilling, and we are happy and grateful that the Standard Chartered Foundation also believes in this cause. We are also thankful to Standard Chartered in Sri Lanka for the support rendered to make this initiative possible.”

“Standard Chartered aims to uplift the lifestyles of all project beneficiaries backed by the funding of the Standard Chartered Foundation as we continue to have the best interests of our communities at heart. We believe the partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka will not only help in terms of empowering our youth, but will also contribute to moulding responsible, talented and independent citizens who will play a crucial role in the growth of our motherland’s economy, culture and communities. We hope to closely work with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka in making this project a success through the contribution of our volunteer network and knowledge resources,” Anuk De Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka stated at the event.

Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is the Bank’s global initiative to tackle inequality. It promotes greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged young people through education, employability and entrepreneurship programmes. The Standard Chartered Foundation is an independent, charitable foundation led by its own Board of Trustees and is supported by a Programme Steering Committee.

December 7, 2021

The vision of establishing SOS Children’s Villages in Sri Lanka turned into a reality in 1979 when Mrs. Malsiri Dias, former Head of the Child Secretariat wrote a letter of enquiry regarding the need to build the Villages in Sri Lanka. Following an assessment visit from Mr. Helmet Kutin, former Deputy Secretary General and Delegate for Asia, and current Honorary President of SOS Children’s Villages International, the very first SOS Children’s Village in Sri Lanka opened its doors to children in Piliyandala in 1981.

Today, there are a total of six SOS Children’s Villages – located in Piliyandala, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, and Jaffna – providing the best alternative care for children who have lost parental care due to various reasons including, but not limited to financial instability, family breakdown, psycho-social factors, poverty. SOS Children’s villages uses a unique holistic care model known as ‘Family Like Care’ to offer children a loving home, a caring mother, supportive siblings, and a safe community to grow up in.

Throughout its 40-year journey, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka has contributed immensely to the Sri Lankan community with over 50,000 individuals who have been positively impacted through a range of social programmes.

Facilitating education for underprivileged children

SOS Kindergartens

Early childhood education is a critical part in shaping a child’s life. SOS Kindergartens provide free pre-school education to children, both, in the village and the community who are from poverty-stricken families. These kindergartens also give an opportunity for children at SOS to mingle and build strong relationships with the children from surrounding communities.

Impact à To date, SOS Kindergartens have prepared over 8,200 young minds for school.

SOS Hermann Gmeigner School

The year 1985 saw the beginning of the Hermann Gmeigner School, which was built on the land donated by the Sri Lankan Government. Managed by the Ministry of Education in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka, the school has a capacity of 1000 students and has provided free education for children and youth to have a better future.

Impact à To date, over 27,335 children have managed to complete their education at the SOS Hermann Gmeigner School.

Preparing today’s youth for a better tomorrow

SOS Youth Care

When children in SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka grow up and reach adolescence, they are sent to SOS Youth Homes which are either located within the children’s village or in close proximity to it. Guided by highly specialized SOS staff, these youth are trained with skills and qualities needed to become independent and successful adults. These homes also provide specialized youth counselling programmes to address the psychological, emotional, and social needs which all youngsters typically go through during this age.

Impact à To date, over 1,400 youth have been successfully integrated into society through the SOS Youth Homes.

SOS Vocational Training Centres

SOS Vocational Training Centres in Sri Lanka provide free vocational training for youth of poverty-stricken families who are unable to pave themselves a suitable career path. These training centres will help such youth become equipped with a vocational skill, which will allow them to support their own families by seeking employment or being self-employed. Currently, there are four SOS Vocational Training Centres located in Monaragala, Malpotha, Jaffna, and Anuradhapura.

Impact à To date, over 2,170 young people have built successful careers for themselves through the SOS Vocational Training Centres.

Keeping families together

The SOS Family Strengthening programme identifies poverty-stricken families in the community, in which children face the risk of losing their parental care due to the destitute situation of such families. These families are then enrolled into a five-year programme in which they are taught various skills and offered knowledge to help manage their families and rise out of poverty. Once enrolled, all costs of education of children in these families are borne by SOS Children’s Villages throughout the five-year period.

Impact à To date, over 2,700 families in Sri Lanka have bettered their lives and the lives of their children through the nine SOS Family Strengthening Centres located across the country. As a result, nearly 8,000 children from these families have been saved from a potentially bleak future if not for the intervention of SOS.

July 14, 2021

Partnership renewed for another three years
Employability skills and competencies training program to empower youth and help to enhance their employability

Colombo, 30 June 2021: DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has renewed its partnership with SOS Children’s Villages in Sri Lanka for another three years. The partnership will focus on increasing the employability of young people through an employability skills and competencies training program.

An organization under SOS Children’s Villages International, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka has for nearly four decades, provided care for children without parental care and children at risk of losing parental care. Through SOS Children’s Villages located in Piliyandala, Galle, Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, and Jaffna, the organization currently has over 800 children under its care. It also supports over 3,200 children who are at risk of losing parental care through its SOS Family Strengthening Program.

This partnership began in 2018 as part of a global program called ‘GoTeach’ introduced by Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL Group) with SOS Children’s Villages International to foster empowerment and employability of young people from challenged socio-economic backgrounds. It was launched locally by DHL Sri Lanka as a unique development program, designed to enhance the personal and professional skills of youth aged between 15 and 20 years, as they prepare to enter the workforce. The initial program was conducted at SOS Children’s Village in Piliyandala.

Commenting on the partnership, Dimithri Perera, Country Manager, DHL Express Sri Lanka said, “We are pleased to be able to continue our support and improve youth employability during these challenging times, while helping them develop confidence and social skills necessary for when they enter the professional world and interact with others.”

To-date, DHL Sri Lanka has completed training for youth at SOS Children’s Villages located in Galle and Piliyandala, benefitting over 50 youth. Further training will be conducted for youth at Anuradhapura and Nuwara-Eliya SOS Children’s Villages in the coming months.

The program covered a wide variety of activities that trained and supported the participants. The training program had four stages beginning with the DHL facility visits followed by brainstorming sessions on personal maturity, social and job hunting skills, which are vital for increasing one’s employability.

The sessions helped participants deal with major barriers they face in developing their lives and broadening their employability. For example: in the Personal Maturity session, the youth learn about improving their self-confidence and self-awareness, while they gain social skills needed for when they enter the workforce and work with others in Social Skills session. In the Job Hunting class, they gain professional qualification and collaborative skills.

To support the youth to overcome these obstacles, DHL Sri Lanka conducted a range of activities including interactive games, where participants learned about collaborative teamwork and personal evaluation, how they could improve their leadership skills, stress management, personal finances management, writing and interview skills, work attitudes and career guidance, among others.

DHL’s intervention has enabled these youth to enhance their employability eligibility and collaborative skills, building their self-confidence and sharing valuable experience through role models.

Divakar Ratnadurai, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages, Sri Lanka said, “Young people at our SOS Children’s Villages face significant challenges when they enter the labor market or as they transition into an adult, independent life. With the support of DHL, they will have access to training and mentorship required, and can dream of a better tomorrow.”

These young people also received mentorship by employees of DHL Sri Lanka, who volunteered their time to mentor the young people. Selected industry professionals have also participated to inspire the youth.

Ahamed Ur Rahman, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Marketing and Sales, DHL Global Forwarding Sri Lanka added, “This program is an ideal springboard for these young people to improve their future through the support and experience of DHL employee volunteers. We look forward to making a positive impact on their lives.”

October 16, 2020

Colombo, October 16^th, 2020: Allianz Lanka joined teams from Allianz offices around the world to raise funds for critical projects of SOS Children’s Villages through the recently concluded fifth edition of the Allianz World Run.

Since its inception in 2016, Allianz World Run has supported SOS Children’s Villages on 32 projects in 28 different countries. The initiative seeks to inspire Allianz team members as well as their friends and family to undertake recreational physical activity and get you active by giving them the opportunity to tackle pressing global issues. Runs and challenges completed by participants through the course of this year’s Allianz World Run were tracked via the adidas Runtastic apps. Allianz will be contributing funds and providing aid to areas desperately needing support for every minute of their activity.

Held under the theme of “Run Together for Tomorrow”, Allianz World Run 2020 saw 12,261 participants from over 50 countries around the world cover a total distance of 1,940,116kms between 08 July to 05 October 2020.

1,103 participants from Sri Lanka took part in the event and covered 121,564kms, a distance equivalent to around 3 times the circumference of the Earth, helping our paradise island rise to the 3^rd position on Allianz World Run 2020’s global leaderboard. Allianz Lanka’s clients and business partners too joined the initiative, helping the insurer raise more funds towards this worthy cause.

“The Allianz World Run exemplifies values such as community, determination, leadership and passion that we believe strongly in at Allianz. We are delighted to enter the fifth year of this incredible initiative and look forward to building on the successful collaboration between the World Run and our work with SOS Children’s Villages,” said Gany Subramaniam, Director / Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited and Director, Allianz Life Insurance Lanka Limited. “Given the current health and economic crisis that plagues the whole world, Allianz World Run gives us the opportunity to bring hope and help brighten the futures of those suffering. The active participation of our teams in Sri Lanka and around the world, despite the challenging times, inspires us to continue to help future generations combat hardships and bring courage to communities.”

The Insurer will be partnering with SOS Children’s Villages to support underprivileged children and their communities in Africa, this year. The charitable donations made through Allianz World Run 2020 will be focusing on providing immediate relief packages to SOS Children’s Villages in five African countries facing the challenges caused by the current global health and financial crisis. For the first time this year, Allianz will also be directing its contributions towards SOS sustainability projects in these five countries, all of which are heavily impacted by climate change.

In Sri Lanka too, Allianz has had a longstanding partnership with SOS Children’s Villages. Earlier this year, Allianz Lanka joined hands with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka to empower youth with essential IT skills under the ‘Shape the World of Tomorrow’ program. The program is part of Youth Can! – SOS Children’s Villages’ global partnership for youth employability – that strives to equip young care leavers with the tools they need to transition to independence and find decent work. The insurer is providing 100 youth between 14 – 19 years of age from 6 SOS Family Care and SOS Family Strengthening programs across the island, with access to globally recognized International Computer Driving License (ICDL) programme by February 2023. Allianz Lanka is utilizing the Allianz Social innovation Fund of €10,000 offered by Allianz SE that it had won recently for this.

August 14, 2020

Colombo, August 14^th 2020: Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited (Allianz Lanka) joined hands with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka to empower youth with essential IT skills under the ‘Shape the World of Tomorrow’ program.

The program is part of Youth Can! – SOS Children’s Villages’ global partnership for youth employability – that strives to equip young care leavers with the tools they need to transition to independence and find decent work.

Under this partnership, the insurer will be providing 100 youth between 14 – 19 years of age from 6 SOS Family Care and SOS Family Strengthening programs across the island, with access to globally recognized International Computer Driving License (ICDL) programme by February 2023. Allianz Lanka had recently won the Allianz Social innovation Fund worth €10,000 offered by Allianz SE and will be utilizing it for this.

The two parties signed the formal agreement for this programme at the SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka national office in Piliyandala recently. Several representatives from Allianz Lanka and SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka including Gany Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited; Mangala Banadara, Chief Marketing Officer, Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited and Divakar Ratnadurai, National Director, SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka were present at this event.

“Youth empowerment remains one of the key focus areas of Allianz’s community outreach efforts around the world. In line with that, we are excited to partner with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka yet again and help them take the ICDL program to more young adults across the island,” said Gany Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited. “Helping them get trained and gain a globally recognized certification that is supported by governments, computer societies, international organizations and commercial corporations alike, we believe that this will go a long way in supporting them in successfully managing the transition from school to independent adulthood.”

“We would like to thank Allianz Lanka for partnering with us and supporting our youth empowerment initiatives,” said Mr. Divakar Ratnadurai- National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka. “The ‘Shape the World of Tomorrow’ program uses Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to foster education and self-development among children and youth of SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka. This is part of our wider ‘Digital Villages’ strategy which provides children, young people and caregivers with digital literacy training and access to ICT resources to support education, employability, training and capacity building.”

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka showcase enchanting ‘SOS Wonder Village’ at One Galle Face Mall

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka relaunches YouthCan! to empower youth and create meaningful impact

Standard Chartered embarks on reskilling youth with SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka

SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka Completes 40 Years of Social Service

DHL Sri Lanka and SOS Children’s Villages Sri Lanka renew partnership to increase youth employability

Allianz World Run Continues to Support SOS Children’s Villages

Allianz Lanka Powers Youth Employability with SOS Children’s Villages SL