Austrian Ambassador Makes a Goodwill Visit to SOS Children’s Villages of India in Faridabad

FARIDABAD: Her Excellency Ms. Katharina Wieser, the ambassador of the Republic of Austria to India, has made a goodwill visit to two of SOS Children’s Villages of India (SOS CVI) in Faridabad – one in Greenfields, and another in Sector 29.

She also visited Hermann Gmeiner School, a higher secondary school in the city, named after the Austrian founder of SOS Children’s Villages.

Rakesh Jinsi, President, SOS Children’s Villages of India, Rajneesh Jain, International Representative/Asia at SOS Children’s Villages, and Sumanta Kar, Secretary-General, SOS Children’s Villages Of India received the ambassador.

Commenting about her visit, Katharina Wieser, said, “I am delighted to meet the children of the SOS Children’s Villages and the students of Hermann Gmeiner School at Faridabad. I am very pleased by the high standard of the work the team at SOS Children’s Villages Of India is doing for the care and protection of children. I think what they are doing is so important for society at large.”

“It is heartening to see how SOS Children’s Villages, from a single location in Austria, has grown to be a global movement giving countless children a family and an opportunity to grow with love, respect, and security. I am sure SOS Children’s Villages Of India will grow leaps and bounds in the years to come. We at the Austrian Embassy in India are committed to supporting them in all ways in their noble cause.”

During the visit, Her Excellency interacted with mothers, retired mothers and children of the children’s villages. She saw the pictorial exhibition of the history of SOS Children’s Villages in India, organized at the gallery of SOS Children’s Village – Faridabad Sector-29. The children there performed a Rajasthani dance, a colorful Indian traditional dance in honor of the ambassador. At Hermann Gmeiner School, Ms Katharina Wieser inspected the science projects of the students and launched a book of poems composed by them.

Her Excellency also visited the Asia Office of SOS Children’s Villages, and the SOS Children’s Villages Of India’s National Training Centre and Resource Centre, all located in the city. It is to be noted that Hermann Gmeiner, a child welfare worker, started SOS Children’s Villages in Tyrol, Austria, in 1949 to protect children, who were orphaned during World War II.

Today, SOS Children’s Villages International comprises 118 national SOS Children’s Villages associations. In India, SOS Children’s Villages has been operational since 1964. It has 32 villages in 22 states and Union Territories -and has so far supported over 20,000 children and youth with a loving home.