Development programmes
Committed to the protection and rights of children, SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde is involved in development with long-term programmes, included in the 4th Framework Agreement (2022-2026) Signed on 2 February 2022 with the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFAEA). In Benin, Guinea, Niger, Senegal and Uzbekistan, 13 programmes are in their fourth year of implementation and continue to evolve.
West Africa: PACOPE-SPE
In West Africa, 12 PACOPE-SPE1 are being developed so that children in vulnerable situations receive quality care and the rights of children and young people are respected, that their access to basic social services is improved and that young people are supported on the difficult path to employment. In a complicated global context, the 3rd year had encouraging results. The programmes have supported 2,174 families, 9,895 children and young people (including 4,705 girls), followed by 1,077 young people (including 475 girls) not in school, allowing community structures to be developed (with more than 15,000 members) which are increasingly involved: 98 Children’s Clubs (1,241 community initiatives reached 200,116 people), 98 Child Protection Committees (5,090 cases of VAEN/OVC2 supported) and 113 Parents’ Associations of Pupils (1,138 community awareness activities mobilized 168,435 people). During 2024, an external evaluation highlighted their positive impact on the beneficiaries: improvement of the situation of children, economic strengthening of families, occupational integration of more than 1,000 young people. Worth being noted are the visible effects on the community with structures that work for the rights and protection of children and mobilize local resources as well as improving their governance. Finally, the mobilization of formal protection structures at different administrative levels has continued.
1 12 Community Support Programmes for Child Protection and Child Protection Systems (PACOPE-SPE) in West Africa (Benin, Guinea, Niger, Senegal).
2 Children victims of violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect (VAEN) or in a vulnerable situation (OEV).
Uzbekistan: Child protection
In Uzbekistan, the programme to strengthen the child protection system3 continues. In 2024, the signing of a partnership with the National Agency for Social Protection and the Inson Centre which depends on it confirmed SOS Children’s Villages in Uzbekistan as a reference actor in the care of replacement and officially recognized all its services. With its expertise, the SOS association supports the ongoing deinstitutionalization process. In 2024, the programme followed 26 children and young people (including 11 girls), who had lost parental support, welcomed by 5 SOS families, 301 children and young people (including 160 girls) from 119 vulnerable families. It supported state-accredited foster families in two family-type children’s homes to take care of 14 children and young people (including 6 girls) and supported 38 young people on their path to employment. From 2022 to 2024, the programme supported 690 children and youth and 269 families (including SOS families and foster families) and led 43 young people to employment.
3 Implemented by SOS Children’s Villages in Uzbekistan, the programme covers 15 pilot Mahallas in the city of Urgench and rural districts of Shavat, Gurlen and Qushkupir.
Emergency assistance, rehabilitation and resilience programmes
Our association is mobilized where conflicts, crises and natural disasters endanger the lives of children and their communities, in their own countries or in those where they are refugees. Protection, unaccompanied minor care, family reunification, psychosocial support, education and resilience are at the heart of these programmes, some of which are supported by MFEA.
Colombia: Resilience project for young Venezuelan migrants in the department of Valle del Cauca
A new project is being launched in the south-west of Colombia, in the department of Valle del Cauca, against a background of insecurity, poverty and forced migration. This two-year project aims to contribute to the protection and well-being of Venezuelan migrant children and adolescents by strengthening the capacities of 100 vulnerable families, especially single parent households (50 per year). Through individual or collective support, families will receive support to access basic services, including a temporary protection permit, learn to develop their economic autonomy (through financial education training, the creation of income-generating activities and savings associations) and to improve their parenting skills. The project will also strengthen community-based child protection dynamics through the creation of local committees, mobilization of leaders and collective awareness actions. 15 community members or leaders will also benefit from this project, which is scheduled to start in the summer of 2025.
Spain: Emergency aid project in the province of Valencia following floods
In October 2024, the floods in the province of Valencia had devastating consequences. The human and material damage is significant, many houses and infrastructure have been destroyed or severely damaged. 68 municipalities in seven regions were particularly affected by the disaster. Around 40,000 children and adolescents have had their access to education interrupted due to the closure of schools in disaster areas. Of these, 24,000 have temporarily joined other schools. Thanks to funding from the European Investment Bank, SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde is supporting a project in 2025 to support children affected by these floods. Through psychological and emotional support for families, financial assistance, assistance in administrative procedures and the creation of safe spaces for children and families, This project aims to mitigate the effects of the disaster and reduce risk factors for vulnerable children and their families.
Ethiopia: Strengthening food security and livelihoods in the Oromia region
Since the summer of 2023, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia and Gayo Pastoral Development Initiative have been working in the southern region of Oromia (Borena area) to meet the needs of pastoral communities hard hit by a recurrent drought. The project, which is supported by MFEA, has three components: health and nutrition, protection of displaced women, livelihoods and food security. After strengthening the health system and meeting the health and nutrition needs of more than 30,000 people in Yabello district, the project has strengthened the livelihoods of 150 very vulnerable households. From November 2023, a nutrition expert intervened and a food aid for mothers of malnourished children hospitalized in Yabello was set up. The project also helped to strengthen the protection of victims of sexual violence, public awareness and training of health personnel to reduce abuse against displaced women. From June 2024 to June 2025, it focuses on strengthening food security and the livelihoods of 150 households and focuses on food diversification: growing vegetables and nutrient-rich fruit trees, reviving their livestock activity (Goats) and sustainable improvement of feed and income. At present, a project in the Borena area is being reformulated.
Ethiopia: Emergency relief project in the Gezei Gofa region following landslides
In July 2024, heavy rains struck the woreda (district) of Gezei Gofa in the southern state of Ethiopia causing severe landslides in this mountainous area. The human toll was more than 250 dead and 15,000 displaced people, homes were destroyed and agricultural land destroyed. Since April, our association has been supporting a one-year SOS Children’s Villages project in Ethiopia that aims to restore agricultural livelihoods and improve the mental health of landslide victims while building community resilience. The project targets 849 households (4,245 people). Recovery of livelihoods and food security (distribution of inputs, technical support, economic alternatives), psychosocial support and protection of vulnerable populations (post-traumatic stress, gender-based violence) and strengthening access to health and nutrition services (prevention and treatment of acute child malnutrition) are the three strands of the project.
Palestine: Emergency response for displaced families in Gaza
An emergency response was implemented by SOS Children’s Villages in Palestine due to the unprecedented humanitarian disaster faced by the population of the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The measures include reception of unaccompanied children, humanitarian support for families, emergency care, mental health services, and more. The local NGO has provided alternative care and family strengthening services to more than 32,000 children and adults in the West Bank and Gaza since 1968. The MFEA has mandated our association to support a project that aims to enhance the economic and psychosocial well-being of families who have been displaced since June 2024. The project, which aims to reach 1,200 people, was initially positioned in three camps for displaced individuals in and around Khan Younis governorate. At the end of July, the SOS camp should implement more cash transfer activities for 217 households and recreational activities to reduce stress and anxiety for 2,000 children.
Due to extremely poor security conditions on site, the local association had to temporarily suspend its operations after the ceasefire broke down in March 2025. Since March, the humanitarian blockade has prevented children and families from receiving essential goods and services, including clean water, food, and life-saving care. Children are not only killed by war, but they are also at risk of starvation.
Ukraine: SOS Children’s Villages’ response to the war/ Supporting a child-friendly space in Poltova
Since February 2022, the war in Ukraine has put children’s lives at risk and deprived them of their rights. In 2024, SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine and its partners continued their activities in ten regions4. In 2025, it will begin a new strategic phase focused on the transition between humanitarian aid and long-term development. It plans to strengthen its mental health services through the creation of permanent centres integrated into local systems, while continuing the reform of deinstitutionalization to promote forms of family care. Emphasis will be placed on supporting self-employment for vulnerable families, including through training, mentoring and grants in several regions. At the same time, social services strengthening projects will be implemented to improve child protection at the community level. Finally, advocacy activities will be intensified in order to anchor children’s rights in public policies and secure multi-year funding. SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde will contribute in 2025 to the support of the child-friendly space at the Poltava railway station, a city located in north-central Ukraine. It plays a crucial role in the humanitarian response to war and hosts a large number of displaced persons.
4 From Luxembourg, thanks to its donors, our association has been able to transfer more than 550,000 € for emergency aid in Ukraine.
Educational projects
Cape Verde: Training for young leaders of single-parent families
Cape Verde has been strongly impacted by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine that have hit hard tourism, the country’s main economic engine and source of employment, especially cities like Mindelo. As a result, unemployment, the incidence of poverty and inflation have prevented vulnerable families, especially single-parent families, from meeting their basic needs (education, food, health). In response to this situation, an educational project has been implemented since July 2024 to support 60 vulnerable families in building their capacities so that they can develop income-generating activities and be able to provide for their children. Training in aesthetics, pastry, hospitality and parenting skills and small business management has already taken place. Over the last three months, fish processing training was provided. 131 children from the families concerned also benefit from the project. They are welcomed at the SOS nursery school and have since the beginning of September recreational activities in the afternoons at the social centre of Mindelo. While the adolescents attended a workshop on communicating and setting boundaries, the children received an awareness of brushing. This project runs until June 2025.
Laos: Rehabilitation of infrastructures and computer lab
In Laos, a lack of economic opportunities and high unemployment lead to youth migration to neighbouring countries. Many children and youth in the country have little access to safe drinking water, sanitation, health, nutrition and quality education. A one-year project, launched in July 2024, aims to strengthen the learning capacities of these young people. Several buildings in the SOS Children’s Village of Savannakhet have been rehabilitated, a computer lab has been set up, and children have received new equipment and computer training. They are made aware of the means to be healthy (adequate access to drinking water, nutritious food, school lunch). In addition, they pay attention to the protection of children. By the end of 2024, the project had already benefited nearly 800 people in the SOS village and community.
Morocco: Construction and equipment of a college and boarding school for girls
Following the earthquake that affected Morocco in September 2023 (almost 300,000 inhabitants affected), SOS Villages d’Enfants in Morocco has implemented a humanitarian response in four parts, one of which is supported by our association. This is the construction of a college and boarding school for girls in the city of Aït Ourir. The school will help meet the education needs of girls and boys in this region. New buildings with classrooms, a laboratory, science and administrative spaces will be built in November 2025. The college will be able to accommodate 250 students in the first year, eventually 500 girls and boys. The boarding school will house 50 girls and provide them with a comfortable and secure living space, which will help combat school dropout. The facilities will be equipped with computers, tables/chairs but also bedding and medical equipment. Work began in November 2024 and the children will be able to return to this new college in September 2026.
Mauritius: Expansion of an education and learning centre
The economy of Mauritius has been heavily impacted by COVID-19, with tourism having been at a standstill for long months. Although the sector has been restarting since 2022, many people are still left behind, especially the most vulnerable in the country’s centre. Since April 2011, the Education and Learning Centre (ELC)5 in Curepipe has been providing quality education to disadvantaged children. Since 2020, applications for admission have increased but the ELC has only four classes and already welcomes more than 80 children under 5. The space is also used for young people and parents attending evening classes. In response to growing demand, an extension project will provide a more comfortable environment for the children and youth of Curepipe. It is to enlarge a classroom (35m2 on the ground floor reserved for children) but also to redevelop two offices, a kitchen, a teachers’ room and toilets (1st floor/ 100m2). 250 children and young people from the community, 50 adults and 12 SOS Children’s Villages in Mauritius are involved. Work began in January 2025 and is expected to be completed this summer.
5 Financed by private donors, the Rotary Club of Luxembourg Foundation, the Club Soroptimist de Esch/Alzette and the Fondation du Souvenir et de l’Amitié and through a financial contribution and support for the management of SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde with SOS Village s d’Enfants in Mauritius.
Data on 05/06/2025