NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 5
SOS Children’s Villages of India, an international NGO, announced on Saturday that its has signed two MoUs with the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Gujarat, a release said.
The MoUs were signed by Manoj Aggarwal IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, and Sudarshan Suchi, Secretary-General, SOS Children’s Villages of India.
According to the MoUs, the NGO will share knowledge, good practices and technical expertise in designing and implementing the state-run Kinship Care through capacity building of caregivers for 125 children, who have lost parental care in and around Bhuj, Kutch District. When children have no one to care for, their relatives may extend parental care.
Under the State’s Palak Mata-Pita Yojana, a welfare scheme for orphaned children, the government has invited the NGO for effective and impactful implementation of the programme. SOS Children’s Villages of India will draw from its own successful Kinship Care Programme, which ensures that children grow up in their natural socio-cultural environment with adequate focus and supervision by the local communities, so their best interests are protected, at all times.
Similarly, the state is keen to develop a robust After Care Programme for youth and involving SOS Children’s Villages of India in this programme implies that a strong end-to-end programme can be delivered. The NGO will employ an integrated approach in preparing 100 care leavers job-ready by mapping their skills to the job market and providing requisite training, supporting their path to independence. SOS Children’s Villages of India will also facilitate employment for trained youth and provide life skill education for them to cope with professional work cultures.
Commenting about the partnership, Sudarshan Suchi said, “Owing to our practitioner experience of over fifty-five years, we are in a position to offer the expertise of providing the best parenting templates along the alternative care continuum, which means we bring a wealth of knowledge in raising children until they are on their own towards self-reliance. The ability to create solutions that are scalable and effective will be extremely helpful in this partnership.”
In his comments, Manoj Aggarwal said: “I welcome this partnership with SOS Children’s Villages of India towards securing future of children and youth who need care and guidance by looking after their overall welfare, development and economic independence.”
