South Africans encouraged to participate in Orphan Week

World Orphan Week (WOW) 2012 takes place during the second week in February and raising awareness for this cause is the world's largest children's charity, SOS Children's Villages. Since the inception of this event in 2005, SOS International has played a key role in raising awareness around the needs of orphaned and abandoned children around the world. SOS Children's Villages South Africa spearheaded the introduction of WOW in 2009 and has played an important part in making every vulnerable, abandoned and orphaned child's plight known.

"Sadly, society today has far too many people, mostly children, who are unable to speak or fend for themselves. In South Africa, many have lost their families to diseases such as HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. Some are abandoned by family members who are no longer able to care for them due to extreme poverty, while approximately 50 000 are victims of domestic violence and crime. A voice for the unheard is needed and SOS seeks to be that voice," says Leigh Swartz, fund development manager for SOS Children's Village's South Africa.

Task is too great for government

"The need for organisations and individuals alike to become involved has never been more urgent. The task is simply too great for any single government or organisation to tackle alone. Working together however, we can achieve this. Our aim for 2012 is to get as many people as possible involved in achieving the common goal of assisting those youth and children without families," says Swartz.

With this in mind, SOS calls all companies, organisations, schools, communities and individuals to do something 'WOW' to aid vulnerable, orphaned and abandoned children in February 2012. There are no limitations in terms of how to get involved; in fact Swartz encourages those wanting to participate to be as creative as possible.

"Any money raised for SOS Children's Villages will go directly to supporting the 7 300 children in our care, as well as toward our community programme known as the SOS Family Strengthening Programme," says Swartz.