Child Sponsorship Background from Zahle, Lebanon

SOS Children's Village Ksarnaba

SOS Children's Village Ksarnaba is located to the west of Ksarnaba, on the road to Baalbeck, approximately 10 km north of Zahle, the largest city in the region. It was built on grounds made available by the municipal authorities. The SOS Children's Village in Ksarnaba comprises 8 family houses, the village director's house, the SOS aunts' house (SOS aunts care for the children in the absence of SOS mothers), administration and service areas, sports and playgrounds, multi-purpose halls and a workshop.

Other SOS Projects in Ksarnaba

In the SOS Nursery of the village, 75 children from the SOS Children's Village and from the neighbouring community are cared for daily in three groups. There are few training centres in the Ksarnaba region; this affects the young girls especially, and 56% of them are illiterate.

An SOS Social Centre and an SOS Vocational Training Centre were built in Ksarnaba, and 300 girls and young women, as well as 150 children from the poorest and most marginalised families of the area, receive assistance there. Both projects are positioned in such a way that a total of about 75,000 people can reach the facilities in about 20 minutes from at least 15 of the villages in the area if they require assistance.

The SOS Social Centre consists of a workshop, a meeting room, offices and a storeroom. The SOS Vocational Training Centre consists of 5 classrooms, a meeting room and an office. Together, all of these SOS facilities (SOS Social Centre, SOS Vocational Training Centre, SOS Day-care Centre, and SOS Nursery Ksarnaba) are part of a pilot project for assistance to children, youths and women from regions which are economically underdeveloped and lacking in infrastructure. If it proves to be successful in the long run, it will be implemented in other regions.

Background to Ksarnaba

Zahlé is the capital of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 140,000 inhabitants, mostly Christian, it is the third largest city in Lebanon. Zahle is called the bride of the Bekaa Valley.