Last Thursday I went to visit the SOS Children's Village Cape Town, which was opened in 1996 by Nelson Mandela. The village's secretary, Razell, welcomed me in a very warm manner and offered me to show the whole village. After a short introduction to the basics of the village, we had a look at three of the currently twelve operating houses. It was great to talk to the mothers, who take care of up to 8 children with ages ranging from 6 to 15 years. Younger children are taken care of in a cresh, which is also located in the village. The idea is that as soon as a child is 16, he/she is moved to the Youth House. In the Youth House the children live much more independent, as these houses are not supervised by a mother anymore, but by a youth leader. The sad news that I received was that the Youth House had to be closed a year ago, as there are not enough funds to keep it up and running. This really is a shame, as the facilities are present, but in order to maintain them and cover all expenses for the children new sponsors need to be found.

Interestingly, most of the volunteers in the village come from the surrounding communities, to which the village has a very close connection. A bilateral support in many things is very common, as I learnt. As a result of this, several events are organsied together and even financcial support is given by the community. Volunteers occasionally also come from abroad and stay for a couple of weeks to support the important role of the mothes. Tasks range from preparing food for the children to supporting them with their homework or organising activities for them in the afternoon. I was happy to hear that the children are all attending schools in surrounding communities. Some have to go to schools, which are quite far away, yet with the reasoning that they should have their friends around, even though they were separated from their biological families. Roughly 2/3 of them still have biological parents and in order to maintain a good relationship with them, the children visit them every second weekend. Special activities are then organised for those who stay in their houses in the SOS Village.