AIDS Orphans and SOS-Villages in India

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

Re: AIDS orphans - I would be interested in your experiences with SOS-

Villages. Are they a viable alternative to institutionalization? Are

there any experiences from India? I am particularly interested in

care mechanisms for AIDS orphans.

<riekkola2003@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

In reply to the suggestion that SOS-Villages may form

a viable alternative to institutionalization.

SOS has received heavy criticism from many who work in

this field, mainly because their approach is highly

institutionalized.

Their is a very common consensus among child

development specialists that institutional care is not

an ideal environment for children to grow up in.

Experience from Africa also shows that institutions

cannot cope with the largescale orphaning caused by

HIV/AIDS (India already has more AIDS orphans than any

other country)as this is not a cost effective

approach. Typically, the most basic orphanages cost

five times more per child than community based

initiatives. SOS " villages " cost considerably more.

I, along with many others, am convinced that the only

way that India will be able to cope with its rising

numbers of orphans is to move away from institutional

care, and develop community based strategies. There

are many African examples that have shown that this

can work in the most challenging of circumstances.

Neil Monk

E-mail: nmonkuk@...