2008: SOS emergency relief programme in Dafur

In the summer of 2006 SOS Children's Villages opened a new family centre in Dafur, the third of its kind in the region. SOS staff have been looking after children in Abu Shok refugee camp since the end of 2004. The need for centres of this kind is very great as large numbers of children have lost their parents in the turmoil of war or have been subjected to sexual abuse and urgently need professional help in coming to terms with these experiences.

Abu Shok refugee camp lies on the outskirts of El Fashir, the capital of North Dafur. Almost 100 000 refugees have made their homes in the camp, 80% of them are women and children. Today Abu Shok is about the size of a small town and this is why it has become necessary to start SOS family centres at several locations within the camp, enabling a maximum number of refugees to benefit from the services offered.

2007: KoCoS makes a donation to the Balthasar Children's Hospice

The Balthasar Children's Hospice in Olpe held its annual open day on 8th December 2007.

Thomas Becker, the CEO of KoCoS Messtechnik AG, and Martin Kraemer, head of the Sales & Applications department, took this opportunity to present the hospice with a donation. The money stems from various activities, including the official opening of the company's new building in Korbach.

The donation will be used to support and promote the work of the children's hospice, ensuring that it can continue to be a place where the families of terminally ill children can find the help, care and assistance they so urgently need.

One of the major goals of the children's hospice is to enable children who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness to visit Olpe a few times a year, along with their parents, brothers and sisters, with the aim of giving them a break and helping them recharge their batteries. Professional bereavement support is also provided by the hospice.

2007: SOS Children's Village in Ondangwa, Namibia

Ondangwa, which lies in the Oshana region in the north of the Namibia, was chosen as the location for the country's third SOS children's village because more orphans and more families affected by AIDS live there than anywhere else in the country.

Unofficial figures suggest that the HIV prevalence rate has reached 50% in this part of Namibia.

And while in 1995 Namibians could count on an average life expectancy of 61 years, this figure has now plummeted to 44 years, a development fuelled by the rapid spread of AIDS in the country.

2006: "6 villages for 2006" project

"6 villages for 2006" is a massive charity campaign launched by SOS Children's Villages in partnership with the FIFA to mark the 2006 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ in Germany.

The aim of this campaign is to raise funds for the construction of six new SOS children's villages: more than 800 children, most of whom are currently living on the streets, will be given a home, a mother, brothers and sisters, neighbours - in short a whole community and the sense of belonging which this brings - in Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, the Ukraine and Vietnam.