March 25, 2010 – 1:10am
Located 90 minutes by taxi (a very fast taxi – 180 kph) outside Munich, Germany, I found myself in the beautiful tourist area of Lake Ammer. Christoph is my guide today. He is one of 80+ employees at the Ammersee SOS Village, the oldest SOS village in all of Germany (founded over 50 years ago). Christoph is an incredibly enthusiastic gentleman who has been at this location for 13 years. Prior to that, he worked at orphanages in the area, but the conditions were too challenging to make a real difference…Not so the case at SOS.
The unique aspects of this village are they focus on the very young, and often the most emotionally challenged children that still have a parent/parents. Why? From what Christoph described, young, healthy, orphaned children are adopted quite quickly. The government subsidizes adopting parents via a monthly stipend, but it may be a cultural thing too…I suspect it is likely a bit of both.
There are 60 children living in 11 homes here. There are 4 more buildings – Kindergarden, 2 administration, and an apartment building for the employees. The kindergarden is open to the town and there is a daycare available for single moms or those that cannot care for their children during the day due to work, etc…pretty cool.
During my visit they were in the middle of a mandatory sewer system overhaul…a 500,000 Euro (~$650k USD) untimely expense…remember, this place is over 50 yrs old and was donated…and this isn’t a public works project funded by the local government. Ouch.
WildTangent donated six netbooks to this village. They will be used as school performance rewards for the older children in the village (14 yrs and up), and to help them advance their lives and become better suited for life after SOS (typically children leave at 18-19, or as soon as they find employment). With the help of SOS, most children currently now find trade work in hotels, tourism, making crafts, auto repair, etc.
Given that there are no youth homes here (unlike several SOS villages I’ve visited in other countries) that help children phase into adulthood and attend a university, NONE of the children here have gone on to college. Who knows, maybe a netbook will be just the thing to help expand their options and one or more will find their way to attend university studies in Munich…I hold out hope for that.
From SOS: The SOS Children’s Village Ammersee was erected in the city of Diessen, in a beautiful spot near lake Ammer. The nearest large city is Munich. The SOS Children’s Village Ammersee comprises 11 family houses, where 60 children are living.
In addition, an educational community offering social therapy is available for up to six children and youth who suffered grave conflicts within their natural family and need external accommodation. The children can stay in this community for a maximum of two years and the goal is to re-integrate them into their natural families. At the ancillary counselling centre psychotherapy, supervision, perception and psycho-motor training and an educational support program are offered to children, youth, co-workers of the SOS Children’s Village and the children’s birth parents. A day care centre was also erected on the site of the SOS Children’s Village Ammersee, offering a kindergarten, all-day care and a facility for schoolchildren.
cool
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