After the first phase of instant emergency relief, medium and long-term support to affected families and villages in Phuket & the surrounding regions is now going to start.

Our project is to built a 'Children's Village' based on the concept of the SOS Kinderdorf (Children's Village), first introduced by the Austrian Hermann Gmeiner in the small Tyrolean town of Imst in 1949.

Concept:
A Children's Village revolves around the desire to give children who are either orphaned or who are no longer able to live with their natural parent in a stable environment. The Children's Village family structure is formed on four basic principles: Mother, Brothers and Sisters, Home and Village.

Mother:
Each child is given a caring person who will become the Childs ( Substitute ) Mother. She is the main person who will care for this child and is a substitute for the child's natural parents. She lives in the house together with the children who are under her care. Together with them she will organize the family's daily life. She creates strong and dependable relationships and gives the children a secure and loving home.

Brother & Sister:
Girls and boys of differing ages will grow up together in The Children's Village family as Brothers and Sisters. Natural brothers and sisters are not separated. Children are accepted from small babies until the age of 16 unless there are brothers and sisters involved, in which case the children could be older.



 

House:
Every family has a Home of its own. Each house/Bungalow has a combined living/dining room as the centre of social life. The familiar atmosphere of a home of their own encourages bonding within the families and is another important piece in the "mosaic" Children's Village to give the children a feeling of belonging and shelter.

Village:
On average a Children's Village has between ten and fifteen family houses. The village provides the background for an extended family community. This supplies the children with cultural roots and gives them a feeling of belonging. At the same time, village life is an important bridge to the local community. “The Children's Village" should be an open place which not only promotes the integration of the Children's Village children into the local area but also supports interaction and encounters with neighboring communities.