Members of the Socoodeife Youth Panel estimated that in 2023, about two thirds of the world's 140 million orphaned children are living in the African continent.
The Youth Panel members believe that no child should grow up alone. The Young Panelists are dedicated to extend help to orphans who are either living in the orphanage built by Socoodeife, or otherwise living with foster families. These Young Panelists are also family members of the foster families - kind members of the community who have taken some of the orphans under their care.
We express our gratitude to all of you who believe that sponsoring a child means building that child's hope in the future. The supporters and donors have allowed these orphaned or abandoned children to develop their own unique feelings and experience joys in life as a child. Because of the donors, the orphans have a stable routine and can thrive in a safe environment. Sponsoring orphans gives them a chance of becoming responsible adults in the future.
With each child you support, you allow these children to live a normal life. You are promoting their well-being as they have the opportunity to grow together with other orphans or children of the foster family, like brothers and sisters. They can develop emotional stability despite the emotional scars or traumatic experiences they had in the past. As a sponsor, you can directly contribute to their mental and intellectual development by shouldering the cost of their education.
Whenever you build a close relationship with each child in your care, it not only means providing them with the food, clothing, shelter and other material needs they may have, it also includes giving them love, parental care, security, education and health care. A child needs to be guided during his youth so that he can eventually manage his own household independently. In other words, taking on an orphan to raise means commitment and selflessness.
Foster families could live together, forming support for those orphaned children in order to provide them with an environment where they can enjoy a happy childhood. Members of the Youth Panel share their experiences and support each other so that they become better equipped to fulfil their role in this noble endeavour.
The Youth Panel members and these orphaned children also live as integrated and contributing members of the local community. Thanks to the family members of these Youth Panel, their village and their community, each orphaned child under their care learns to participate actively in the society around them.
One of the Socoodeife supporters had the privilege, on February 17, 2023, to join a small group that visited the committees of a member of the Socoodeife Youth Panel in the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Somalia. She was very impressed with the Young Panelists and the thriving orphaned children and decided to continue her monthly support.
The Young Panelists believe that life insurance for orphaned children is the only asset that almost all orphaned children have. For the young parent with a limited life expectancy, this is the only way to protect the children from economic loss in the event of the premature death of a parent.
Our Young Panelists propose an initiative for the grandfather – a financial aid that should help this grandparent take care of orphaned grandchildren. It is difficult for the ageing grandparents to care for the needs of their orphaned grandchildren. With the aid from Socoodeife’s Young Panelists, the grandparents will be equipped to look after their grandchildren. For the elderly, the Young Panelists provide the money needed to settle an estate and pay for food, school fees and hospital bills.
These children can thrive under a more stable, safe, loving, fun and closely-knit family environment. It can keep orphans alive, prevent depression, strengthen social bonds, and solidify important family relationships. With this initiative, some positive results are already emerging.
By lending a hand and donating to Socoodeife, you are directly helping an orphaned child develop into a productive adult, having a bright future ahead of him or her.
