A visit to Lahore: experiencing residential care in another culture

Children in Pakistan face a variety of serious challenges ranging from malnutrition and poor access to education and health facilities to exploitation in the form of child labour (UNICEF, 2007). In particular, many children are at risk of being orphaned due to natural disasters or poor life expectancy. As such, residential care is a necessity in Pakistan. I was given the opportunity to visit to a residential setting in Pakistan run by SOS Children’s Villages, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has been active in the field of children's services since 1949 and provides services in over 130 countries. SOS Children's Villages focuses on family-based, long-term care of children who can no longer grow up with their biological families (SOS, 2007). In Pakistan, as in many developing countries, central government works in partnership with international NGOs to enable it to provide services such as residential care.
There are seven SOS Children's Villages in Pakistan. The village in Lahore which I visited has been in existence since 1978. One hundred and forty children live in the village, which consists of 15 family houses or bungalows, a Community House, a Director's Residence, a Mosque and living quarters for the staff or 'co-workers'. In 1986, an SOS Youth Residence was established for older children which offers accommodation to 50 young people who are still attending school or college or doing vocational training. There is also a training workshop, and a dispensary was added in 1993.