Alternative Care

Every child deserves to grow up in a family environment where they are valued, respected, and supported.

At SOS Children’s Villages Somalia, Alternative Care is a key program that provides a safe and nurturing home for children and young people who cannot live with their immediate families.

Every child needs someone who stands by them, believes in them, and supports them unconditionally. SOS Children’s Villages ensures that children growing up without parental care receive high-quality support tailored to their individual needs and best interests. By fostering strong, healthy relationships, we create a sense of belonging and trust—foundations that help each child grow into their strongest self.

Our Alternative Care services include family-like care, foster family care, small group homes, kinship care, and supervised independent living arrangements, ensuring that every child has a stable and loving environment in which to thrive.

 

Family-Like Care

At SOS Children’s Village in Somalia, we create nurturing environments for children who have lost parental care due to various circumstances, including abandonment. When children are unable to live with their biological families, we provide them with a secure and caring home where they can grow alongside their biological brothers and sisters as part of a family.

We offer children a fresh start, helping them rebuild their lives with the stability of a supportive home. They grow up in a safe and caring environment, guided by a dedicated caregiver who remains a lifelong parental figure, surrounded by brothers and sisters who share in their journey.

 

Foster Family Care

Foster care is a care arrangement where a child is formally placed in the care of one or two adults who act as foster parents, providing a safe and nurturing home. At SOS Children’s Villages, we integrate and support foster care in various ways, ensuring children receive the stability and care they need to thrive.

 

 

Kinship Care

Kinship care is a form of alternative care in which a child is cared for by extended family members, older siblings, or close family friends. While kinship care is often arranged informally within families, it can also be formally recognized and supported by child welfare authorities as kinship foster care.

At SOS Children’s Villages, we support kinship care through our family strengthening programs, helping caregivers provide a stable and nurturing environment. By offering guidance, resources, and access to essential services, we work to ensure that children in kinship care grow up with the security and support they need to thrive.

 

Small Group Homes

Children grow up in small, family-like groups that provide stability, care, and a sense of belonging—similar to SOS Children’s Village families. Each family typically consists of a parent and a group of four to ten children living together in a home.

With individualized support, access to education, and skills training, children and young people are empowered to develop their potential and prepare for independent living, ensuring they have the tools to build a bright future.

 

SOS Programme Locations

SOS Villages - Family Based Care

 

How SOS Children's Villages ensures the best care for children and  young people

 

We focus on children without adequate parental care

We commit to focus our efforts on our target group: children without parental care or at risk of losing it who are living in vulnerable circumstances.

We position the SOS Children’s Village as a programme for child care and protection

We commit to a long-term presence and locally adapted services in the communities where we work. Each of our programmes provides and promotes a range of quality alternative care options and family strengthening services. When necessary to meet otherwise unaddressed needs of our target group, we also provide healthcare, education and humanitarian emergency assistance.

 

We promote family strengthening and strong gatekeeping and ensure the best care option for every child

We commit to identify the most suitable care option for every child according to the child’s best interests and in close collaboration with the responsible authorities.

 

 

We create a safe environment for children in all our programme

We commit to create a safe environment for children in all our programmes at all times by implementing child safeguarding measures and procedures in line with our child protection policy, international standards and best practices. We also insist that our partners do the same.

We promote and continuously strengthen the care profession

We commit to promote the crucial role of care professionals. We nurture both passion for and dedication to the profession, and encourage skills development. We do this because children have a right to quality care and need a caring and trustworthy relationship with someone they can rely on, every single day.

 

We enhance the integration of SOS families and vulnerable families in community life

We commit to enhance the integration of SOS families and vulnerable families into community life. The aim is for children and young people to build strong social networks that can support them throughout their life.

 

 

We provide individual support to achieve goals, improve gender equality and increase impact

We commit to support children and families on their journey to self-reliance. We do this through child and family development planning, addressing all aspects of life. We put a special focus on ensuring equal opportunities for girls and boys and thus on improving gender equality.

We promote education, participation and steps to independent life

We commit to support every child and young person in our programme in taking steps towards an independent life. This means securing access to quality education and supporting them to develop appropriate skills and work ethic to succeed in life.

 

We partner for supporting services and advocate for quality care

We commit to focus on our care expertise and partner for supporting services such as education, healthcare and economic empowerment. We also engage with governments and other decision makers to promote quality care.

 

 

For thousands of vulnerable children across Somalia

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