Child Sponsorship Background from Kathmandu, Nepal

SOS Children's Village Sanothimi, near Kathmandu

SOS Children's Village Sanothimi is located on the road leading from Kathmandu to the old temple city of Bhadgaon, approximately 10 km from the centre of the capital. It was built on former rice terraces and can be reached over a small bridge.

The location is very beautiful: there is a wonderful view of the city of Kathmandu and of several peaks of the Himalayas. The site was donated by the Nepalese government. In the 1970s, Sanothimi was in a rather rural area, but today it has become a part of Kathmandu.

SOS Children's Village Sanothimi consists of a number of family houses, a community centre, the village director's house, staff quarters, a room for medical treatment and an administration area.

Other SOS Projects in Sanothimi

There is also an SOS School with a nursery, an elementary and a secondary school, which is open to children from the neighbourhood as well. The school has a very good reputation.

The adjoining SOS Social Centre offers a family-strengthening programme focusing on scholarships for school fees, text books and school uniforms allows children from poor families to attend school as well.

The SOS Children's Village also runs a ceramics workshop where some of the youngsters are trained in pottery. In 1982, the National Office of SOS Children's Villages Nepal was established at SOS Children's Village Sanothimi. The older youths from the SOS Children's Village usually move to the SOS Youth Home in Kathmandu. This is their first step towards independence while they are still at school, college or university, or doing vocational training.

Background to Kathmandu

Kathmandu is the capital and largest metropolitan city of Nepal. The city is the urban core of the Kathmandu Valley in the Himalayas, which also contains two sister cities namely Patan or Lalitpur.