SOS Children's Village in Kara

The SOS Children's Village in Kara is a family-based child-care facility operated by SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo, the Togolese national association of the international SOS Children's Villages organisation. It is located in Kara, in northern Togo, and opened its doors in 1979, making it one of the older SOS Children's Villages facilities in the country alongside the villages in Dapaong and Lomé. The village provides an alternative family environment for children and young people who have lost, or are at risk of losing, parental care. Within the wider SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo programme, the Kara village is part of the organisation's family-based care strand. According to the association, its family-based care programme offers an alternative family to children deprived of one, delivered through the three SOS Children's Villages of Dapaong, Kara and Lomé, while the Atakpamé programme operates six integrated houses and foster families. The Kara village therefore sits alongside complementary activities such as family strengthening programmes, formal education projects (nursery, primary, technical and vocational) and health programmes including hospital, medical centre and community health work. The village operates on the classic SOS model: children are raised in family-style houses with an SOS mother, supported by a pedagogical committee composed of the village director, a social worker, youth educators and a representative of the mothers. This committee supports the director in organising the children's schooling and family education, while the mothers handle family education and encourage school activities in the houses. A programme developed with the mothers and children organises cultural, social and sporting activities. On the legal side, SOS Togo states that it guarantees the right to identity for every child admitted to its programmes: a birth certificate is established for each child and steps are taken to obtain a certificate of nationality, documents that support the young person's social and professional integration. The Kara village is part of SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo, which describes itself as part of the largest organisation in the world working so that children and young people deprived of parental care, or at risk of being so, can grow up with the bonds, support and care they need. The Togolese association also emphasises transparency in its communication with donors, given the proliferation of NGOs and associations and donor mistrust about the use of donations.

The SOS Children's Village in Kara opened in 1979, according to the official website of SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo. It was established as part of the national association's family-based care programme, which today operates through the SOS Children's Villages of Dapaong, Kara and Lomé, with the Atakpamé programme running six integrated houses and foster families. The Kara village is located in Kara, in northern Togo. Its creation placed an SOS family-based care facility in the northern part of the country, complementing the village in Dapaong further north and the village in Lomé in the south. Over the decades, the national association expanded its activities beyond residential care into family strengthening, education and health programmes. By 2018, SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo had started a family and community strengthening initiative that accompanied 211 families for 804 children in communities including Aféyé-Kpota, according to the association's website. The association also reports work with adolescents and young people as actors of change in communities such as Ilama, Akparè, Matékpo, Gléï and Talo, where 75 adolescents and apprentices, including 50 girls, were involved. The Kara village operates within the classic SOS model. A pedagogical committee composed of the village director, a social worker, youth educators and a representative of the mothers supports the director in organising the children's schooling and family education. Mothers provide family education and encourage school activities in the houses, and a programme developed with the mothers and children organises cultural, social and sporting activities. On the legal side, SOS Togo states that it guarantees the right to identity for every child admitted: a birth certificate is established and steps are taken to obtain a certificate of nationality, supporting the young person's social and professional integration. The village is part of SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo, which describes itself as part of the largest organisation in the world working so that children and young people deprived of parental care, or at risk of being so, can grow up with the bonds, support and care they need. The association has also emphasised transparency in its communication with donors, citing the proliferation of NGOs and associations and donor mistrust regarding the use of donations.

• 2018

  SOS Villages d'Enfants Togo starts a family and community strengthening initiative accompanying 211 families for 804 children in communities including Aféyé-Kpota.

• 1979

  The SOS Children's Village in Kara opens its doors in northern Togo.

A family-based child-care village within SOS Children's Villages Togo, providing alternative family care and holistic education for children in northern Togo.

1. 1ACCUEIL - SOS VILLAGES D'ENFANTS - TOGOsos-togo.org
2. 2DOMAINES D'ACTION - SOS VILLAGES D'ENFANTS - TOGOsos-togo.org
3. 3A PROPOS - SOS VILLAGES D'ENFANTS - TOGOsos-togo.org
4. 4SOS children's village in Kara - Wikidatawikidata.org