PRESENTATION OF THE SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES ASSOCIATION

SOS Children’s Villages believes in the child’s ability to overcome trauma and to integrate positively into society if allowed to develop in a favorable living environment. SOS Children’s Villages offers these individuals, mostly abandoned, a structured family and educational living environment.
This association has been active in Morocco for 30 years.

Thus, even if a family experiences difficulties, a child’s place is within their biological unit. When a child is born and then abandoned, they are predestined to a life of suffering and violence. It is very difficult for an abandoned child to find their place in society, because they remain children who are tolerated but not accepted.

Indeed, we live in a society whose fundamental values are solidarity and mutual aid. People do help, but do they accept these children, do they truly recognize them as their equals? NO.

One example: we struggle every day to have our children accepted for internships. When we contact companies, we often encounter reactions such as “aren’t they delinquents? Don’t they have aggressive behaviors?” NO, they are human beings like you and me.

SOS Children’s Villages has existed in Morocco since 1985. It already has 30 years of experience with abandoned children and families in precarious situations. Their actions are organized around two axes:
a traditional core mission, which is the long-term care of children.
the “Family Strengthening Program” implemented to give families the possibility, in the long term, to meet their own needs and lead an autonomous existence.

1) SOS CHILDREN:

They also take in abandoned children from orphanages and place them in a SOS village where they are entrusted to a mother. They grow up in a home with brothers and sisters. Depending on available spaces in the villages, requests are made to regional orphanages regarding numbers and criteria of age and sex.

But it is very important to note that the villages are mixed, as society is in general, and that both girls and boys are admitted. Orphanages submit files on children. There is no problem finding boys, which is not the case for girls. Those proposed often have a family link, which kafils do not want because they prefer children without biological ties. Work is done in this direction because if there is already a family link, it can serve as a basis to attempt to reintegrate the child into their family.

There have already been children a few hours old and the oldest must not be more than 5 years old. They absolutely want the child to be in the SOS Village at the age when they should begin schooling. Schooling is very strictly monitored. That is what will allow the child to build a future. It is a major priority.

2) SOS MOTHERS:

Above all, they are women of around 35 years old, without family ties or dependents and who have at least a baccalaureate level. Their mission is to take care of the children that judges have entrusted to the Association according to a temporary placement procedure.

Like any mother, they stay 24/7 with the children, ensuring their well-being and monitoring their schooling. They have the particularity of being employees of the association and therefore have one day off per week and one month of vacation per year. But being a SOS mother is a lasting commitment that requires total investment. That is why training is organized for the mothers to help them cope with difficulties they may encounter.

When they work with a SOS mother, it is as if she had carried the child entrusted to her. In any case she carries the admission project. She starts by visiting the child at the orphanage to build the first bonds.

During the second step, the child is placed for a week with their future family. It is the opportunity for the future mother to observe the child’s abilities, gaps, particularities on which she can build to facilitate their integration. Then the SOS mothers set up the “tree of life”: a notebook that retraces the child’s entire life from the moment they arrive in the village. From admission many photos are taken so that, as the child grows, they can know their story and the key moments of their arrival.

3) LIFE IN THE VILLAGE

It is a true place of residence. The child goes to public school every day. If they have health problems, the mother takes them to the clinic. Many activities are also offered to the children. They do sports at the youth center, musical, theatrical and sporting activities, just like in any family. Each child is considered with their particularities.

The mother has a budget allocated to her to do the shopping and care for her children. Everything is of course meticulously supervised and structured.

a) KAFALA

Kafala is a means of fighting abandonment but it has limits, since it can be broken at any time. It is a terrible social problem. According to reports from orphanages, there are about 20% of children returned after a first kafala.

That’s huge! The reasons for this double abandonment are sometimes outrageous: “I’m going on vacation and I don’t have anyone to keep him”, “I thought he was well-behaved”… It is a very important problem for which the kafala collective fights.

b) SOLUTIONS

Moreover, the best solution is for the highest levels of the state to be concerned with improving the kafala law, by putting in place a foster family system. A child’s place is first in a family, and then in an institution. At present, SOS Children’s Villages is the best institution that cares for children and offers them a substitute family.

To change the situation, the Ministry of Habous must feel concerned, because the problem can only be addressed through its religious aspect. Sermons in mosques to explain the issues could change mentalities. Within the Kafala collective, many ulemas have a progressive discourse and their words can convince people.

4) COSTS AND AID

Today, state subsidies represent only 3% of the association’s budget. That is very little given the expenses and needs.
To survive, work is done on three fronts: fundraising with companies on the basis of partnerships. Much work is also done with public funds, notably with the INDH.

There is also support from the general public through the sponsorship system. On average, a child’s care at SOS Children’s Villages lasts 18 years. So by becoming a sponsor and giving 100 DH per month, this will allow the association to operate “calmly”.

5) THE FAMILY STRENGTHENING PROGRAM

Thus the work is mainly done with single-parent families. There are many widows, divorced women, single mothers. Starting from a network of local associations, these women are offered training, enabled to organize into cooperatives, and given the means to produce and sell their products.

6) AREAS OF ACTION

Based on INDH studies, it is determined where the population with the highest prevalence of vulnerability is located.

In Casablanca, the association is present in the shantytowns of Sidi Moumen, Hay Mohammadi, Sidi Bernoussi, areas identified by the INDH.
Much work is also done with young people who will tomorrow be an important support for the family.

sources: Musicalement Vôtre, Sofia Benjelloun Amri