Rosemary's Sharebook 

Help Children in the Wake of Tragedy To the millions of children around the world who have lost everything and everyone due to earthquakes, floods, HIV/AIDS and other disasters - SOS means hope. With your support, we will continue to provide stable homes, meals, an education and medical care to children who are victims of floods or earthquakes in Pakistan, Haiti and Chile, just as we continue to nurture victims of other disasters. SOS Children's Villages operates 500 Children's Villages worldwide where we provide loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children. Through our Family Strengthening Programs, we provide support to those who are struggling to keep their families together. Thank you for making a difference in the world. As unparalleled floods destroy homes, roads and the rural economy of Pakistan, another kind of commerce is all the easier: human trafficking. And it is orphaned children who are the first victims. These children who disappear often reappear behind doors and streets as child laborers, indentured servants or child prostitutes. This is why child protection in the face of any natural disaster is a major goal for SOS Children's Villages. In Haiti, our Children’s Village outside of Port-au-Prince is now home to 408 children - double the number before the horrific January earthquake. We are providing meals and medical care to 20,000 people still in limbo. And, when 33 children were stopped from being brought into the Dominican Republic illegally, Haitian child welfare officials turned to SOS to provide them with a safe haven. In Pakistan, SOS is working directly with the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan to distribute $2 million in food and emergency supplies. This week, our trucks delivered 80,000 meals and 500 tents, and more will follow. Thankfully, our eight villages in Pakistan have been spared the effects of flooding and our doors are open to children who have nowhere else to turn. In Chile, following an 8.8 earthquake on February 27th, SOS worked with the National Emergency Office to provide greatly needed food, shelter and generators to children and families in the most impacted zones. Our 13 Villages suffered damage but continued to provide security to hundreds of children. Please help to sustain SOS programs around the world. You can make the difference between a child growing up in a secure, loving SOS home, or a life as a child laborer or prostitute. Make a difference now. Thank you for your support. Heather Paul, PhD Executive Director SOS Children's Villages - USA P.S. A donation of just $25 can buy one more food packet and $100 can buy one more tent. You can make a difference.