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Sponsor a child in Asia or the Middle East

SOS Children's Villages supports children, young people and families in 32 countries in Asia

  • 164 SOS Children’s Villages 

  • 209 youth programs 

  • 121 family strengthening programs

  • 142 kindergartens, schools and vocational training centers 

  • 36 social centers

  • 7 medical centers

  • 14 emergency response programs 

 

Challenges with exploitation and instability 

Ever since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, Syrian families have suffered tremendously, losing family members, their homes, their means of support, and their sense of security. Millions have fled the country. Many of those who remain in Syria lack clean water, food, and medical care, and deal daily with the effects of the war. Millions of Syrian children are growing up without access to education, safe places to play, or desperately needed mental health care.  

On the other side of the region, the Uighurs, a Muslim minority livingin western China, continue to chafe under Chinese rule. They have little economic or political power, and extreme poverty in the area means that many families are unable to care for their children.  

Regional challenges for children: Trafficking and child labor

Many children have to abandon school to go to work. It is estimated that as many as 7% of Indonesian children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labor. Other forms of exploitation, especially sexual exploitation, are also an issue in the region.  

Sexual exploitation is particularly common among children who leave home without any support system and have nowhere to turn for help. Other children are abducted and become victims of human trafficking, smuggled internally or into neighboring countries. 

Elevating the voices of young people

We are committed to ensuring all children benefit from equality of opportunity, to go to school, and to be able to determine their own future, free from economic and sexual exploitation.  

We work with at-risk families, we operate to raise children who have lost parental care, and we offer youth empowerment programs that help young people transition to adulthood. They are guided, supported and encouraged throughout the entire process.

Ensuring equality and opportunity for all children

Only half of South Asia’s young people complete their education, with 48% of children not enrolled at the upper secondary level. In Pakistan, 54% of girls and women over age 15 are illiterate, compared to a still high 30% of boys and men.

SOS Children’s Villages believes that education is the foundation for success. Children throughout the region have the opportunity to attend SOS kindergartens as well as Hermann Gmeiner schools, named after SOS’s founder.