SOS Childrens Villages, a Practical Functionality in Today's World, My Experience

It is not easy to run a charity in this new era where government stopped almost all the financial aid orphanages and nursing homes used to get for decades. These are full-time staff who need salaries to live, and children with no hope other than SOS due to government failure, begging for charity. Instead of family planning policies and improved care, government has left the kids to charity just like our elderly (except for the tiny hand-outs that are almost impossible to arrange and receive, due to crumbling entities like SAPOS and SASSA). Fancy news laws like NHI are being written that have no practical forethought, only a desire to create more overpaid office-jobs while the needy practically receive less every year. Kids require healthcare, SOS makes a plan!

So in that context I have for many years donated to SOS. I see many complaints here about debit orders, are they living in LaLaLand? In this dire time only the naive sign debit orders and then expect anything good from it. No, I make once-off donations for specific things, and I always get a letter back, in my preferred language, and before 28 February I receive a proper tax certificate - SOS is the only charity that understands such practicalities, and SARS accepts their tax certificates, wow! So, in essence, part of my taxes go to SOS instead of down the endless useless leak that is government, not only in South Africa but globally. For that, I thank you. I do not expect miracles, this here is the desecrated Earth not Heaven, but I expect reliable administration and I have received that from SOS for years. I do not know how you keep that up nowadays, but I hope you do.

Finally, if people really cared, they would notice and use the greatest service SOS has, namely not their orphanages but their anonymous child-abuse reporting process. Something that has collapsed from government over the last decade, so someone has to do it. Thank you, SOS, for understanding what is going on. Please continue trying your best while the world falls deeper.