Child Sponsorship background from Bo, Sierra Leone

SOS Children's Village Bo

SOS Children's Village Bo is situated about 275 km south-east of Freetown, near the town of Bo. It comprises ten family homes, the village director's house, co-worker accommodation, a multi-purpose hall, an open round hut, an administration and service area with a small clinic, two workshops and a playground. In May 1998, solar panels were installed so that the SOS Children's Village can generate its own electricity for lighting.

Other SOS Projects in Bo

An SOS Nursery was opened at the same time as the SOS Children's Village. It consists of five classrooms, a Montessori room, a crèche and a multi-purpose hall. The SOS Nursery is open to children from the local community as well.

The SOS Primary and Secondary School, which was opened in 1985, has included vocational school with many practical subjects since 1997. The school is only 500m from the SOS Children's Village and is open to children from the local community. It consists of nine classrooms (six primary school and three secondary school classes), dressmaker/tailor workshops, a physics and chemistry lab, a typing and computer lab, a library, a teaching kitchen and rooms for individual tutoring. In addition, there is a canteen, an administration and service area, an open round hut, co-worker accommodation and a playground. The school has a capacity of 300 students.

Around the age of 15, youths from SOS Children's Villages usually move to one of the three SOS Youth Homes. With only one educator to take care of them, the youngsters are quite independent and have to take responsibility for their lives. For youngsters from the SOS Children's Villages, moving to an SOS Youth Home is usually the first step towards an independent life. SOS mothers, educators and village directors prepare the youngsters very carefully for this important step in their lives. Young people usually stay at the SOS Youth Home until they have finished their education or training and found a job. This takes four years on average.

SOS Social Centre Bo (community outreach programme) provides food to all students of the SOS school (about 300 at the moment), and in some cases also to their parents.

Background to Bo

 Bo is the second largest city in Sierra Leone (after the capital, Freetown) and the largest city in southeastern Sierra Leone. The city is located in the Southern Province and lies 155 miles (by road) south-east of Freetown. The city serves as the capital and administrative centre of Bo District. After Freetown, Bo is the leading educational, commercial and cultural centre of Sierra Leone, with a current population of 215,474.

The population of the city is ethnically and culturally diverse. The city is home to a significant number of virtually all of the country's ethnic groups, though the Mende people make up the largest ethnic group. The Krio language is the most widely spoken language in Bo and is used as the primary language of communication in the city.

The city is the primary home of Njala University, the second largest university in Sierra Leone.