SOS Children’s Village Canada

❗More than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030 if current trends continue.
❗245 million ever-married women and girls aged 15 and above are victims of sexual and physical violence.
❗1 in 5 girls are married before the age of 18.

Girls without parental care are exposed to even higher risks. Together, we must ensure that the root causes of poverty, gender-based violence and discrimination are addressed through structural changes. It is a way to unlock the full potential of all women and girls. ♀ 💙

When they have someone to stand by them no matter what, children can overcome hardship and grow into their strongest selves. 💙

This , we celebrate relationships that bring children joy, security and strength, even in the most challenging times.

For anyone who wishes to help us, the organization SOS Children's Villages Canada to support us in our approach to helping poor people and children around the world can contact us via messages

Children and families have had their lives shattered by the war in . Around 1.7 million people have been displaced, many repeatedly. An estimated 19,000 children are alone amidst the chaos, left without parents or relatives that could protect them.

"They are exhausted, and you can feel their sadness," says @[urn:li:organization:18421995:SOS Children's Villages Palestine]'s staff member about children in Rafah, southern Gaza, where most of the displaced population stays

Almost 19 million children are out of school due to the war in .

'This is a nightmare for families. When children are cut off from education, entire families are deprived of their hope for a better future,' says Abdelrahman Mubarak, director of SOS Children's Villages in Sudan.

One year on: the forgotten war in Sudan

Soaring hunger and the world’s largest child displacement crisis: 17 April marks one year since the outbreak of the war in Sudan, but the conflict has long since disappeared from the public eye. Meanwhile, the situation of children, young people and families is desperate.

Close to four million children are displaced within the country. “Most families have lost everything: their homes, their income, their hope,” says Abdelrahman Mubarak, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Sudan. “Their communities have been destroyed, the health and education systems have collapsed. They lack food, water, medicine, clothing and shelter.”

Hundreds of thousands of children in Sudan are suffering from severe malnutrition. 18 million people across the country are acutely food insecure and 5 million are now facing starvation.

“People are living in refugee camps and schools,” continues Mr. Mubarak. The latter have been closed since the outbreak of the war, resulting in 19 million children missing out on their education. “This is a nightmare for the families,“ Mr. Mubarak says. “When children are cut off from learning, entire families are deprived of their hope for a better future.”

Refugees are surviving with the support of international aid organizations. However, according to the United Nations World Food Programme, many of the NGOs active in Sudan are underfunded and only a fraction of the required aid is reaching them.

Mr. Mubarak hopes that, despite the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the international public will once again turn its attention to Sudan: “The warring parties are committing atrocities against the civilian population, including women and children. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. This war can only end if the international community notices it again and pressures the parties to the conflict.”

SOS Children’s Villages’ facilities are also directly affected by the war. Shortly after its outbreak, SOS Children's Village Khartoum was forcibly taken over by armed troops and the children were evacuated. At the beginning of 2024, they had to be relocated again because the situation in the areas previously considered safe also deteriorated. “In hindsight, I have to say that the decision on the relocation was right. The children are doing well. They are psychologically stable,” says Mr. Mubarak.

Children in Haiti are suffering mentally and physically’

The escalating gang-related violence in Haiti has forced more than 360,000 families to flee their homes to seek safety and protect their children.

Many families have chosen to leave the capital, Port-au-Prince. Those who have no other places to go live in schools and government buildings that have been turned into camps.
Those fleeing abandon their means of livelihood, putting them and their families in even more precarious circumstances. It is reported that nearly half the population – some 5 million people - face acute food insecurity in Haiti.
At the SOS Children’s Village in Port-au-Prince, staff and caregivers do their best to maintain a sense of normalcy for the 66 children, with activities and remote learning taking place as usual.
"All children under our care are safe," says Ms. Faimy Loiseau, National Director of SOS Children's Villages Haiti. "They don't go out as schools are still not open. We continue to monitor the situation.
"The children and staff in our family-like care program have enough supplies for a month and there are also emergency supplies in case things get worse. They continue to go to school remotely," adds Ms. Loiseau.

For the six months of the Gaza-Israel war, the fundamental rights of children and their families have been under attack. Children and young people have experienced unspeakable violence, loss and trauma. They need a lasting humanitarian and targeted mental health support now.