Empowering Women

In many countries in the world today women are not granted the same principal rights in education, society, economics or politics. The third goal of the Millennium Development Goals is to promote gender equality and empower women. It seeks to eliminate gender disparity in all aspects of life by 2015. Great strides have been made thus far but there is still a long way to go to ensure equality.

SOS Children's Villages is doing its part to ensure women are treated with dignity and respect and this starts from the moment a girl enters an SOS Village where she is treated with the same opportunities, love and care as her SOS brothers.

Through outreach in the community with Family Strengthening Programs, women are supported and encouraged to organize themselves, exchange opinions and receive further training. Equal rights for women has two results: self-confident, educated women have healthier children, and support them more in their education and in finding their path in life.

SOS Empowers Young Mothers Around the World

April 26, 2012: After the birth of her son Markus, 22-year-old Monta, from northern Latvia, found herself alone, unable to return to work, and running out of money. Her boyfriend left her after Markus’s birth, and she was evicted from her apartment. Read about how SOS supports young mothers in need...

Rendille woman with her child at Manyatta Ghindo

Rural Kenyan Women Band Together to Secure Better Lives

March 1, 2012: Life for women in the desert of northern Kenya can be drudgery with little to show for their hard work. Water is scarce, and when rain does come it is unrelenting, turning soil into mud and undermining any modest infrastructure residents have built. Though the most recent famine in East Africa has eased, eking out a living in this landscape remains very challenging. Learn how Kenyan women are finding the inspiration to take action...

SOS Women's Shelter Declares War on Domestic Violence

SOS Women's Shelter in Belarus Declares War on Domestic Violence

October 27, 2011: “Where “Where were you before? Our mothers and grandmothers could have used this kind of help too!” That’s what women flocking to SOS’s Crisis Center for Women in the city of Mogilev, in Belarus, rhetorically ask center director Elena Pushkaryova. SOS empowering the women of Belarus...

Brazilian Teenager Gives Back to SOS Center That Helped Her

July 19, 2011: Debora, the youngest in a family of three girls living in Manaus, a city in the northern Brazil rainforest, feels needed. She is beloved at the social center run by SOS Children’s Villages, located in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas Province. Learn more about SOS Social Centers...