Child Sponsorship Background from Niamey, Niger
SOS Children's Village Niamey
Following their visit to the SOS Children's Villages in Senegal
in 1982, representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Niger held their first talks with representatives from SOS Children in West Africa. In 1990, the Ministry signed a plot of land near to the capital Niamey over to SOS Children. The cornerstone of the first SOS Children's Village in Niger was laid on 26 July 1991. On 1 April 1993, the first children moved into their new home. In addition to the SOS Children's Village, a nursery and a primary school were also built on the same site. They opened in September 1993.
Other SOS Projects in Niamey
The SOS Primary School was renovated and extended in 1996. It consists of twelve classes and is currently attended by 420 school children (boys and girls). So that the children can also go to classes during the afternoon, the school has a kitchen and a dining room, as well as several workshops and a small rabbit farm for the practical side of the teaching. The SOS Nursery School has a capacity of 125 children. Both buildings can also be used by children from neighbouring communities.
SOS Children's Village Niamey is just outside the centre of town, in the Dar-es-Salam area, about 20 kilometres from the Diori Hamani international airport. It includes ten family houses that can provide a home for up to 100 children, a village director's house, a house for the SOS aunts (SOS Children's Village mothers in training, who actively support the SOS mothers) and an administration building with a medical centre. The SOS Children's Village also has a small gymnasium where the children can do various forms of sports (table tennis, gymnastics, etc.); a football ground was refurbished with the financial support of FIFA, and a small shop.
Background to Niamey
Niamey is the capital of the West African nation of Niger. It is Niger's largest city, lying on the Niger River, mostly on the east bank. It is an administrative, cultural and economic centre. Niamey's population, officially 774,235 at the 2006 census, is estimated to be much higher.
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