Direct Family Strengthening

 

Direct Family Strengthening is a service aimed at enhancing families' abilities to meet their children's needs and ensure better care for them. This approach focuses on providing direct support to families through a variety of programs and services that enhance their capacity to care for their children and provide a stable and supportive environment.

The SOS Children's Villages Syria aims through this service to empower families towards self-reliance to achieve several goals, including:

  • Children and young people receive good care from their caregivers.
  • Families benefit from basic support services to meet children's developmental needs.
  • Families possess the financial and material resources necessary to ensure their children's rights and needs are met.

SOS Children's Villages Syria offers a range of services that enhance the family's ability to meet their children's needs, including:

  1. Educational services
  2. Health Services
  3. Housing support
  4. Food allowance
  5. Vocational training
  6. Income-generating projects

The goal of SOS Children's Villages Syria has always been to provide support and care for children wherever they are. Therefore, its efforts are not limited to providing a warm home for children who lack parental care within the SOS village, but also offering essential support services to meet the developmental needs of children within their families, helping families achieve independence and self-reliance to ensure the protection of children's rights and meeting their needs. Family Strengthening Service was established in 2006 and provides a wide range of services, including meeting basic needs for families and children, educational and health services, psychological and social support, housing and livelihood support, vocational training, and support for income-generating projects.

In 2023, the service supported 838 beneficiaries within 222 families in various areas of Damascus and its suburbs, and its efforts continue to empower vulnerable families.

 

From Despair to Success: Salma’s Story of Empowerment

Salma is a 40-year-old woman who was able to transform from a mother who lost hope for meeting the basic needs of her three children into an ambitious woman, achieving success with her own perseverance and inspiring her children as well.

  Read Salma's story

Enhancing Education and Building a Bright Future for Children

Family Strengthening Service in SOS Children's Villages aims to provide services with a lasting impact on children's lives to help them improve their reality and develop their abilities and skills over the years. Therefore, one of the primary services provided by the program is granting educational opportunities according to a well-studied plan. The educational aspect includes addressing issues that lead to school dropout, offering comprehensive support for different age groups up to university and postgraduate studies, aiming to improve the level of education at all stages.

Economic Support towards Self-Sufficiency and Independence

In addition to education, Family Strengthening Service seeks to support families economically by helping them implement income-generating projects, which are among the most important services of the program. This is done by assessing each family's situation based on studied criteria, developing a plan to implement the project, conducting an economic feasibility study, and providing support by securing the necessary place and supplies for the project, with continuous follow-up and evaluation until the family achieves independence and self-sufficiency.

Livelihood and Professional Support for Family Stability

The services provided by the program are fundamental to helping beneficiary families achieve self-sufficiency and independence. These include housing support through rental allowances, financial support for home furniture maintenance or purchasing necessities, and vocational training for women based on their desire to expand their expertise in a specific profession and improve their chances of finding new employment opportunities. This aligns with SOS Children's Villages Syria's vision of ensuring that children live within their biological families in warmth and safety.

Comprehensive Health and Nutritional Support for Vulnerable Families

The health services provided by the program aim to ensure the complete health of children and mothers by addressing all health requirements, supplying families with health insurance cards, and providing financial support to cover medical expenses. Nutritional support is a primary step towards the recovery of vulnerable families. Thus, the program offers a monthly and permanent service to meet the basic nutritional needs of beneficiary families upon their registration. The needs for medical, psychological, and therapeutic support are assessed to help beneficiaries overcome obstacles preventing them from living balanced lives. Psychological and social support training and activities, along with capacity-building sessions for mothers and children, are held to equip them with essential life skills.