Child Sponsorship Background from Pakse, Laos

SOS Children's Village Pakse

SOS Children's Village Pakse was the second Laotian SOS Children's Village. It was officially opened in January 1998. Pakse is the capital of Champasak province in the south of the country.

The distance between Pakse and Vientiane is almost 700 km. The SOS Children's Village, which is situated not far from the town centre, is surrounded by houses with gardens. In the vicinity, there are three small primary schools and two markets.

SOS Children's Village Pakse consists of family houses, the house of the village director, accommodation for co-workers and an administration and service area.

Other SOS Projects in Pakse

There is an SOS Nursery School and an SOS School, which are both also open to children from the neighbourhood. The nursery school consists of classrooms and a playground. The school provides primary and secondary education. It has classrooms, laboratories, a library, a sick room, a service and administration area, a canteen, workshops and a basketball court.

Older boys from the SOS Children's Village normally move to the SOS Youth Home when they start a vocational training course or go on to higher education. With the support of qualified youth workers, they develop realistic perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions.

In 2002, SOS Children's Villages Laos launched its family strengthening programmes. These programmes are intended to support families at risk of abandoning their children and to encourage families to stay together.

SOS Children's Villages therefore works with local authorities and other service providers to support families and enable them to take good care of their children.

In Pakse, the family strengthening programme focuses on primary health care and sanitation for people of all ages from the neighbourhood of the SOS Children's Village. A room of the SOS Nursery School building has been set apart for the family strengthening programme.

Background to Pakse

Pakse has a population 70,000 and is a city in southern Laos, situated at the confluence of the Xedone and Mekong Rivers. It is the largest city in Champasak province and is the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau. It was also the former capital of the Lao Kingdom of Champasak.