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| Family enjoying an Easter feast in SOS Ethiopia. Photo by Hilary Atkins |
“The child has a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, subject to appropriate parental guidance,” states article 14 of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child.
April 22, 2011: The in-country, family-based model of care at SOS Children's VIllages hews to the principle that vulnerable boys and girls are best raised and educated within their own traditions and religions.
This week, as people around the world celebrate Easter and Passover, SOS Mothers, too, are making these holidays a special time for the Christian and Jewish children in their households. SOS makes similar efforts to educate Muslim and Hindu children about their faith and celebrate religious festivals.
A case in point: Holy Week and Easter, which commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus, are an important time of the year at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Verde. That nation, a former Portuguese colony, lies in the Atlantic Ocean about 340 miles off the West African coast.
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| SOS children celebrating Easter in Zimbabwe. Photo by Janie Dufty |
Easter in Cape Verde
At the SOS Children’s Village in Assomada, a small mountain town on the island of São Tiago, one of the many islands that make up Cape Verde, most of the children are Catholic. On Easter Sunday, they attend mass with their SOS Mothers. True to local tradition, the service is longer and more elaborate than a normal Sunday mass. For Easter lunch, SOS Mothers prepare delicious dishes that the children have been eagerly awaiting for weeks.
“My SOS Mother prepared beef, a carrot-tomato-cucumber salad, rice, French fries, and fried cassava,” says SOS youth Edson, describing last year’s Easter celebration. “For dessert, there was cheese pudding, chocolate cake, and a coconut confection,” he adds with delight. Easter is a special time that SOS families set aside to spend together. This is another reason - besides the holiday’s religious significance and the wonderful food - that Edson finds Easter such a happy day.
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| Two SOS girls smiling in the Gambia. Photo by Christian Lesske |
SOS Respects and Embraces All Religions
SOS children can learn about their religion year-round, even when their SOS siblings are of a different faith. In the West African country of the Gambia, for example, 90 percent of children being raised at the Village in Bakoteh are Muslim, reflecting the nation’s population as a whole. The remaining children are Catholic, but each group respects the other's religion.
Catholic SOS Mothers take the Village’s few Catholic children to mass and, with the local priest, teach them about the religion. The Muslim children receive religious education in Daras, or Koranic schools - off site for the older children and on site for the youngest ones. Muslim children become familiar with Koranic verses and the Arabic alphabet, and learn proper moral behavior.
Help SOS ensure the safety of innocent children in Africa and all over the world. Become an SOS Global Village Builder for as little as $12 a month and you can make the dream of a home, a loving family, and the joyous celebrations of religious holidays come true for children in dire need.
In the Easter or Passover mood? Remember to send a free eCards to a friends and family on behalf of SOS Children's Villages.
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