Michael Dawson with Aubrey at SOS Children's Villages - Rustenburg, in South Africa - Photos courtesy of The Tottenham Hotspurs

June 16, 2010: Center-half Michael Dawson of England’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, or the Spurs, took time out of his trip to the 2010 South Africa World Cup to visit someone special.

At SOS Children's Villages in Rustenburg, South Africa, Dawson met 12-year-old Aubrey for the first time, a child he is sponsoring at the SOS Village. Aubrey has lived in SOS-Rustenburg with his older brother Orapeleng since 2009. Needless to say, Aubrey and fellow SOS children, huge soccer fans, were very excited by the visit.

Dawson and the Spurs have a special relationship with SOS Children's Villages at Rustenburg. The soccer team has partnered with that SOS Village since 2007. The Spurs funded the construction of a family house, which is currently home to eight children along with SOS mother Patrica.

Making a Difference for Children

Michael Dawson at SOS Children's Villages - Rustenburg, in South Africa - Photos courtesy of The Tottenham Hotspurs

This season the entire Spurs team and its coaches have sponsored SOS children. Every year the Tottenham Hotspurs Foundation visits Rustenburg as part of its community outreach. During those visits the group runs soccer coaching sessions. In May the Spurs launched a World Cup T-Shirt whose profits benefit SOS Children’s Villages.

Soccer player Matthew Upson of West Ham United -- another London-based soccer team -- also visited SOS-Rustenburg. Both he and Dawson spoke passionately about SOS Children’s Villages while the children had great fun meeting soccer stars. Dawson and Upson spent time playing with the children and were pleased to be able to see the Village up close.

SOS Children’s Villages Raises Vulnerable Kids in South Africa

Michael Dawson at SOS Children's Villages - Rustenburg, in South Africa - Photos courtesy of The Tottenham Hotspurs

SOS-Rustenburg, opened in 2006 in South Africa’s North West Province, has 10 family homes for 100 children who lack parental care. The Village is one of eight that SOS runs in that country.

South Africa’s Former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among the most prominent advocates of SOS Children's Villages in South Africa.

Unlike most other SOS Villages, SOS-Rustenburg is integrated into an already existing community. This set up facilitates SOS’s other work, which includes strengthening families so that they can stay together, counseling households about disease prevention -- especially HIV/AIDS -- and providing education and medical care to local needy children.

Get involved, as Michael Dawson has done. Sponsor an SOS child today.