For over 50 years, SOS Children’s Villages UK has connected passionate and motivated supporters with ways to directly change the lives of children and families around the world. Together, we have helped countless children, young people and families get the support they need.
Our work with local partners has taught us that what families and children need is not a one size-fits-all approach. We have always believed that every child should grow up feeling loved, safe and supported. But the past 50 years have also shown us that this looks different for every child and family. What was once accepted as the norm may no longer be best practice in the places within which we work.
The world has changed, and we are proud to be changing with it.
What is family-based care?
Family-based care refers to the people around a child, such as family members, carers and the wider community, who help them feel safe and supported as they grow up.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and not every child has living parents. In many countries, caring for children is shared across households and generations. A child may be raised by grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings or other trusted adults, not only by their parents.
Family can include parents and carers, extended family and kinship networks*, as well as care provided by community members such as collective fostering**. All of these ensure that children have the support and love they need to thrive, and transition into adulthood.
What does this mean for us?
Knowing that “family” looks different for every child has shaped how we help now and in the future. For years, we have been shifting our focus more onto helping family structures around the world stay together. Today, we focus more on helping families stay together and helping communities support children, rather than providing care through the children’s ‘Village’ model that many people associate with SOS Children’s Villages.
As part of this progression, we recently ended our child and village sponsorship offering, to make sure the money we raise goes to help greater numbers of children, through supporting communities directly and sustainably. This approach helps us reach more children and follows what we have learned works best.
At the same time, we have been working directly with our local partners to make sure that our approach to safeguarding meets the day-to-day needs of the children and families we support.
We have also been working on how we can best advocate for, and with, children who are without, or at risk of losing parental care. We are determined to make sure children are heard and that the decisions affecting them take their experiences into account. Whether by speaking up for children globally with UK decision makers, or working to support local advocacy efforts across the programmes we fund.
The changes we have made will allow us to work more closely with our partners, creating deeper relationships and greater flexibility in how we deliver support to children and families around the world.
Our decisions have always been shaped by our strong values, and most importantly have focused on what is best for the children we are here for. We are excited to take you on this journey with us.
Continuing to champion children and families
In October, we will be announcing a new name and launching a new identity, which follows our decision to withdraw from the SOS Children’s Villages Federation.
This change goes far beyond simply changing our name and logo. We are putting our values at the very heart of what we do. We are evolving the ways in which we work with families and children across the world, and we are growing our voice so that we can show up effectively for children who need us most.
One thing that isn’t changing, however, is our commitment to the children and families we are here for.
*A kinship network is defined as a group of social relationships involving people who are considered to be members of the same family.
** Collective fostering refers to community-led or collaborative care models where networks of foster families, local authorities, or agencies pool resources, training, and peer support to care for children in vulnerable situations.
