Situated in the capital city of Orissa, world renowned for its temples, monuments and dance forms, SOS Bhubaneswar is in close proximity to the historic sites of Udayagiri, Kalinga Nagar and the well known Kalinga Studio. The Children’s Village was started in 1996 and is now home to 209 children, 59 boys and 159 girls. This year 20 new children came home to the SOS Village.

The Village Kindergarten accommodates 16 children, 6 from the Village and 10 from the neighbourhood, who learn from innovative play-way methods using kid-smart computers and lively toys. 153 children go to 17 different schools while many youth stay in hostels and training facilities while undergoing higher studies or vocational programs.

Health camps, regular medical check ups and immunization are carried out at regular intervals ensuring a healthy and vibrant Village community. The Indian Naval Hospital Ship Nivarani under INS Chilka came forward to help us on the health front and held a successful medical camp for children and mothers.

During summer vacation, yoga, embroidery camps and cooking classes were organized for grown up girls and dance classes for the younger children. To give hands down practical exposure, training in mushroom cultivation was given to 30 children. Children visited the Education Fair, Pathani Samanta Planetorium, Hirakud Dam and Nandan Kanan Science Park. One of our boys Daniel Khara attended a ‘Learn to Live Together Camp’ at Dehradun while Sarita Das, Gitanjali Mohanty and Sukanya Das conducted mathematics and language classes during vacation.

Two youth facilities Arunodaya and Sopaan take care of the needs of older boys and youth. 20 youth are on roll of Arunodaya, 8 live in this facility while 12 reside in their school and institution hostels. The Sopan facility which is located in Cuttack has on its roll 45 young adults who are pursuing higher education and vocational training. Two boys are pursuing higher studies abroad, in USA and in Norway. 57 girls are staying in hostels and different training facilities.

The Family Strengthening Programme supports children in the surrounding community who are at risk of falling out of a caring natural family environment. Presently 263 families are getting support for 610 of their children (319 boys and 291 girls). 11 Self Help Groups have been formed and support extended to Income Generating Programmess. In addition 25 scholarships have been given to bright students pursuing Diploma in government institutions.