More unaccompanied children are being admitted avery day - Photo: Georg Willeit

January 29, 2010: The emergency relief effort by SOS Children's Villages is reaching more children every day. Several existing SOS community centers have reopened with new centers launching to provide temporary care and basic supplies for unaccompanied children.

As of today, the SOS Village in Santo has taken in 44 unaccompanied children. SOS is providing these children with greatly needed counseling along with food, water, shelter and medical care. SOS is reaching out to thousands more in need outside of the Village.

SOS Children's Villages, UNICEF and the head of the Haitian welfare services agreed on January 26th to provide temporary care for 200 -- 300 unaccompanied children on SOS grounds. UNICEF has pledged to support SOS Children's Villages with the provision of tents and food, and has even agreed to install large kitchen facilities. SOS has made office space available to the staff of the Haitian Welfare Services since their office building was destroyed in the earthquake.

Haitian Children playing together at SOS Children's Villages Santo - Photo: Georg Willeit

In a joint effort with the Haitian co-workers of the SOS family strengthening programs, SOS international relief teams have been identifying more and more communities that are in urgent need of help. In cooperation with the heads of some of these communities, a total of more than 300 children received food at four different locations yesterday. Georg Willeit, an SOS representative said, "This is the start of a string of new family strengthening programs -- the demand is just so enormous! Today, we will probably provide some 500 more children with food rations. The heads of the communities have done a great job of preparing for the arrival of our co-workers: People were already waiting for us when we arrived, but there were never any security problems. The children were so happy once they had eaten, they even got up to dance and sing."

Haitian children share a warm meal at SOS Children's Villages Santo - Photo: Georg Willeit

To support families who have been affected by the disaster, more community centers will be opening in addition to the 16 that SOS Children's Villages had been operating prior to the earthquake. SOS Children's Villages plans to reach out to 7,000 children and adults via these centers over the coming days and weeks. The focus at present is on providing families with food, hygiene products and cooking facilities, in addition to making child care available to parents and relatives who need to rebuild their homes and lives. The provision of building materials for this purpose will follow.

Planning the distribution of food to thousands more is under way, and crucial logistical issues are being addressed. SOS Children's Villages is assessing how to best handle the influx of supplies from the Dominican Republic.

SOS Children's Villages has joined forces with the Dominican Red Cross, which has agreed to erect a tent for two doctors to give basic medical treatment on the grounds of the SOS Children's Village in Santo. A further tent from the Red Cross will provide space for 50 patients. The Red Cross has also offered food supplies, hygiene products and drinking water, as well as technical support in repairing the water pump of the village, which had been without running water for two days.

You can help SOS Children's Villages provide relief efforts to children and families in Haiti: