"We have hope because SOS Mothers are there."

SOS Children reciting poems at the inauguration of the Kayonza SOS Children's Village in Rwanda.

May 24, 2011: On May 6, 2011, the SOS Children's Village Kayonza in eastern Rwanda officially opened with a celebration attended by dignitaries and honored guests.  The new SOS Village joins three existing Villages in Rwanda -- Byumba, Gikongoro and Kigali -- to provide care for more vulnerable children.

SOS children were actively involved in the inauguration ceremony. Dressed in ceremonial attire typical of the region, they performed a series of traditional dances and songs for guests including Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte of Denmark, the Mayor of Kayonza District, the Danish Ambassador to Rwanda, the Governor of Eastern Province of Wanda, and many others.  The children also read poems, recited in the local language, Kinyarwanda: "We have gone through many tragedies and fears, we were traumatized, but now we no longer suffer, we no longer have fear. We have hope now. We have hope because SOS Children's Village is there, we have hope because SOS mothers are there."

SOS Children dancing at the Kayonza SOS Children's Village in Rwanda.

The National Director of SOS Children's Villages Rwanda, Alfred Munyentwari, took the opportunity to thank those who supported the Village building project. He gave special thanks to the Danish government and local authorities, such as the mayor of Kayonza, who provided SOS Children's Villages with the land. The representative of the Minister for Social Welfare in Rwanda also readily praised the work of SOS Children's Villages in the country and throughout the world.

The Kayonza SOS Children's Village in Rwanda

Kayonza is located about 48 miles from the country's capital of Kigali and is the fourth Rwandan SOS Children's Village in a country where the organization has been active since 1979. In Kayonza, SOS Mothers will care for 120 children in 10 to 15 family homes of 10 to 15 children. Social services available in and around the SOS Village will include family strengthening programs, a kindergarten, an SOS Primary School and a medical center. The SOS Social Center will be run in cooperation with local authorities and aims to help people in the city of Kayonza and the surrounding area strengthen families and fight poverty. The goal is to work within the community and foster local participation. The center offers counselling to parents on a variety of topics such as raising and educating children, nutrition, health and career guidance.

Children in the Kigali SOS Children's Village in Rwanda.

In the rural area of Kayonza, life can be extremely difficult for children. According to UNICEF, children hardly have any access to education, often work for very low wages, and have an increased risk of being infected with HIV/AIDS. Many children are married off at a very early age, as is the case for 70% of all girls between the ages of ten and 19 years.

You can help SOS Children's Villages care for children in Rwanda and around the world. As a child sponsor, you will provide a child the chance of a stable, happy childhood in one of over 500 SOS Children's Villages worldwide.  Where would you like to Sponsor a Child?