SOS Children’s Villages International is proudto receive the Zayed FutureEnergy Prize, African Global High Schools award given yesterday to SOS HGSheikh Secondary School in Somaliland.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid,Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, SheikhMohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander ofthe Armed Forces, and Enrique Pena Nieto, President of Mexico presented theaward to a student representative from the school during the Zayed FutureEnergy Prize ceremony held in Abu Dhabi last Tuesday.
The nominationwas through the support of former students, school management and teachers whoapplied for the prize and had the support of the school and management.
“We are happythat one of our SOS Children’s Villages programs is the winner of this prestigiousaward. Education is key for development and as an organization we believe insustainable solutions,” said Nicole Nassar, Managing Director of the Gulf AreaOffice.
The SOS HG Sheikh Secondary School is situatedin Sheikh town in Somaliland which is three hours’ drive from the capital,Hargeisa. It has 300 students inside the school campus and boarding houses thereforthe students, teachers and administration.
The school was built in the 1950s withthe objective of training student for leadership roles. The school was closedwith the fall of the central government in 1991 and was reopened in 2002 underthe supervision of SOS Children’s Village in Somaliland as one of manyprogrammes for orphans and vulnerable children in the country and the region.
About SOSChildren’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is anindependent, non-governmental, social development organization that providesfamily-based care for children in 134 countries and territories and thatadvocates the concerns, rights and needs of children. Approximately 78,000 childrenand young people live in 560 SOS Children’s Villages. More than 206,100children and youths in educational programs worldwide. Moreover, SOS Children’sVillages provides families with material, psychological and social support. 479family strengthening programmes worldwide, reaching about 400,000 children andadults to help families stay together. 79 SOS Medical centres offering morethan 845,200 single services help families stay healthy. In times ofcrisis and disaster, SOS Children’s Villages helps through emergency reliefprogrammes. More than 789,500 single services have been provided through21 SOS Emergency Relief Programmes.
In the late 1990s, SOS Children’s Villages implementan SOS Children’s Village in Somaliland. SOS Children’s Villages has also beenrunning an SOS Family Strengthening Programme to enable children who are atrisk of losing the care of their family to grow up within their own family. Atpresent, SOS Children’s Villages is supporting Somaliland children and youngpeople by providing day care, education and medical assistance. Children, whosefamilies can no longer take care of them, can find a loving home in one of theSOS families.