WELCOME TO SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES In today’s assembly we are going to learn a little about a very proud country. While I tell you a bit about it and show you some photos, I’d like you to try to guess what country it is. It is one of the oldest civilizations in the world: the first people are believed to have settled in the area around 2 million years ago (in comparison, the first UK population dates to only around 230,000 years ago). Through its history, it has been part of prominent Greek, Persian and Indian civilizations. Today this country holds one of the biggest cities in the world, Karachi, with 18 million inhabitants. The capital however is Islamabad. It is a modern city home of the best university in the country as well as some modern pieces of architecture such as the Faisal Mosque. www.wallpaperbase.com

This country also boasts a beautiful countryside, popular with hikers as well as skiiers and snow boarders. The coast line on the Arabian Sea offers opportunities for swimming and watersports, while the river Indus makes prime crocodile spotting territory. oursurprisingworld.com

With a historically strong musical tradition, this country offers both traditional folk music and modern fusions with western music. The cities offer a round the clock night life with restaurants, cafes and clubs, like here in a square in the capital city. Can anyone guess what country we are talking about? A: Pakistan.

Reuters/Akhtar Soomro, courtesy www.alertnet.org In early August, heavy monsoon rains made the banks of the river Indus flood. The water has since spread quite slowly, and is now affecting an area the size of England. Around 1600 people were immediately killed, and 20 million are affected in some way. Some of them may have lost their houses, while others have their jobs and the schools they go to. The floods are affecting more people than the Asian tsunami, the Haiti earthquake and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake put together.

Reuters/Fayaz Aziz, courtesy www.alertnet.org For around 6 million people the situation is critical (this is the same as all the people of Denmark). They may have been left homeless, or they may have no food or clean water. Many diseases also spread in the water, and people don’t have access to hospitals or medical care.

If a disaster like this happened where you live, I’m sure you can imagine that the first people to help you would be your friends, neighbours and local authorities and other organisations. This is true for Pakistan as well – there are many local Pakistani organisations working very hard to help those affected by the floods. But with a disaster this big, there is sometimes a need for international organisations to help as well. SOS Children is one of many such organisation. Normally, SOS Children run Children’s Villages where orphaned and abandoned children are given a new loving home and care of SOS Mothers. After big disasters, like the tsunami in Asia, the earthquake in Haiti and now after the floods in Pakistan, they also do their best to help local people in other ways. In Pakistan, they have bought food which is being given to families who need it. On this photo we can see some of the ready made food packs. They cost only £13 each to buy, and will feed a family of 6 for 10 days.

On this photo we can see some lorries with the food packages leaving one of the SOS Children’s Villages. Some of the teenagers who live in the Children’s Village helped to put them together, and are standing in front of the lorries waving. The food packs are now taken to the areas affected by the floods, where they will be distributed to those who need it.

The floods in Pakistan gives us a good opportunity to think of others The floods in Pakistan gives us a good opportunity to think of others. Before the floods, the people of Pakistan were just like you and I. They went about their daily lives like us: going to work and school, a bit of shopping in the afternoon perhaps, dinner and family time in the evenings. Many of them have lost everything now: they have no work or schools to go to, and no homes and dinners to come home to. It will take a long time and a lot of effort for them to re-build their lives. To conclude, either: Let’s keep those affected by the floods in Pakistan in mind today, as we go about our day. Let’s be grateful that we live in a country in which we are safe from nature disasters like the Pakistan floods. Or: We are fortunate that we live in a country safe from nature disasters like this. Let’s show that we care for those who are less lucky by making a small contribution to the work of SOS Children. I mentioned earlier that a food package for a family costs £13. There is an ongoing need for these. Let’s see how many we can raise money to buy! The photo is from the SOS Children’s Village in Dhodial, Pakistan, and shows some of the children who live there and their SOS Mothers who look after them. Maybe this Children’s Village will in the future be the home of many more children who lost their parents in the floods.