Cultural events mark NGO’s founder’s day

Patiala, June 23

SOS Children’s Villages of India celebrated its founder father Dr Hermann Gmeiner’s birthday today. SOS Children’s Villages, an international NGO, has been  providing secure and loving home to children without parental care and children at the risk of abandonment across the world. It was the brainchild of Dr Hermann Gmeiner, an Austrian, who pioneered the concept of bringing up abandoned and parentless children without parental care in a loving home-like atmosphere.

Anuja Bansal, secretary general, SOS Children’s Villages of India, said: “We have always strived to follow the guidance and values instilled by Dr Hermann Gmeiner. His unparalleled work has always been a source of inspiration for us. In everything we do, we try and stand true to our core value of providing ‘a loving home to every child’”.

With a large global presence in 134 countries, the typical SOS Children’s Village consists of a gated community of 15-20 family homes with a “mother” in each home nurturing a group of 8-10 children, who live together as brothers and sisters. The first Children’s Village in India at Greenfields (Faridabad) was set up in 1964.

Dr Hermann Gmeiner’s birthday is celebrated world over at all children’s villages as SOS Day.  SOS Children’s Village, Rajpura, began the celebrations with a traditional welcome to their guests, garlanding and paying floral tributes to the Dr Hermann Gmeiner’s bust. Ashish Kumar Bansal, CJM, Patiala, was the chief guest.

It was followed by a speech on the philosophy of Dr Gmeiner and his life-long passion for providing a loving home to parentless and abandoned children. There was also a cultural programme during which children presented dance, yoga and skit on women empowerment. The day was dedicated to distribution of prizes among children who have done well academically and in co-curricular activities. — TNS