In March 2016, a donation of R172 000,00 was handed over to two SOS Children’s Villages in Africa by Eugene Brown, Regional President for the sub-Saharan Africa Region, on behalf of the Wacker Neuson Group.
Recognising the tremendous need for assistance by the Villages in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and Windhoek, Namibia, the Wacker Neuson Group decided to split the donation; each facility received a cheque to the value of R86 000.00.
SOS Children’s Village Pietermaritzburg is home to 74 children, ranging in ages from only a couple of months to 22 years. The Village in Windhoek cares for 86 children aged 2 to 21 years. The SOS Villages strive to give these children who are all from vulnerable households a caring, balanced and nurturing environment in which they can develop. These Villages provide the children, whose social backgrounds vary greatly, with food, clothing and a loving home. Often, the children are placed back into the care of their parents once their home lives become more stable and accommodating. They ensure that the children receive good education within their communities, and assist them with life skills development, securing tertiary education and ultimately employment.
To achieve all this requires a lot of funds and the challenges faced by the SOS Children’s Villages are enormous. The South African government subsidises 20% of the total cost per child and the government in Namibia only contributes approximately 10% in social grants so there is a huge shortfall.
The SOS Children’s Villages are therefore dependent on a network of local and international donors to be able to provide the children with the opportunity of living a normal, balanced, happy and carefree life. “Something we all take for granted, but which is often only a far-off dream for these children,” says Eugene.
Donor funding is vital for the global organisation’s sustainability and the respective SOS management teams were extremely grateful to receive the donations from the Wacker Neuson Group. They confirmed that the much-needed funds will go a long way in helping to meet the needs of the children at the two Villages.
Wrapping up, Eugene says that it was indeed an honour and a privilege for the Wacker Neuson team to have been given the opportunity to contribute to this worthy cause. “We were so impressed by the dedication of the SOS Village staff. Their selfless work in caring for these children are of the utmost importance because as the planet’s future generation, all children deserve the right to life’s basic offerings - food, clean water, clothing, a caring environment and an education.”