By Ornette Turay
In an unprecedented move, the Interim National Director of SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone, Mr. Dionisio Pereira on Saturday 17th May, 2025 met a cross-section of former SOS children at the African Hut in the SOS Children’s Village, Freetown.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the SOS Unity Forum, Mr. Foday Turay commended Mr. Pereira for taking his time to meet with a cross-section of former SOS children in Freetown. He added that such opportunity and platform had never been accorded to them during the erstwhile administration.
Mr. Turay engraved the indulgence of attendees to openly express the current situation of SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone. He maintained that they as former SOS children are not happy with the current conditions of the SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone, and its affiliated facilities as quality standards have gone done the drains. Mr. Turay passionately called on Mr. Pereira to work hard so as to restore sanity and the past glories of SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone.
In his response, Mr. Pereira said he is in Sierra Leone on an interim basis to proffer solutions to the longstanding problems that have existed in the SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone. He intimidated that he will work hard to establish a Board of Trustees to oversee the administration of SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone, which he described as checks and balances. This writer will authoritatively state that according to the SOS Sierra Leone Articles of Association, it is mandatory for SOS Sierra Leone to establish a Board of Trustees, but regrettable there has been no Board of Trustees during the erstwhile administration to check excesses of the past administration.
Mr. Pereira disclosed to the audience that the Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) will come into full action again in SOS Sierra Leone to help vulnerable children in their communities. He added that SOS Children’s Villages International new focal objective is to assist vulnerable children within their communities.
He said international sponsors for SOS Sierra Leone is gradually decreasing, adding that SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone has to be rebranded to attract local sponsorship from corporate institutions and individuals.
One of the former SOS child spoke on the declining academic standards of the SOS Herman Gmeiner International Schools across the country. He was very specific about the SOS HGIS in Freetown, where the school for the past six (6) years has not recorded any impressive results in public examinations as it used to. It could be recalled that previously SOS Schools (Freetown and Bo) were always placed in the second or third rating of schools which did extremely well in public examinations. ‘’So, what went wrong after the demise of late Olatungie Woode? We should get it right again. It’s not too late,’’ he questioned.
Mr. Pereira assured the former SOS children that he will work with all stakeholders including former SOS children to get things right in SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone.
Sharing his personal experience, he maintained that former SOS children in Cape Verde rally around people to support SOS Children’s Villages, financially or in kind. He cited a vivid example of a former SOS child from Cape Verde, an artiste who embarked on a fund raising to support the work of SOS Children’s Villages, Cape Verde. He therefore called on former SOS children in Sierra Leone to replicate the good examples of their brothers and sisters in Cape Verde.
It could be recalled that Mr. Pereira had visited SOS Children’s Villages, Sierra Leone on three occasions. In one of his visits, he was the strategic planning leader for SOS Sierra Leone.
This writer is therefore encouraging all stakeholders to cooperate with him sincerely and in truth to have a positive narrative of SOS Sierra Leone. Not problems after problems all the time from SOS Sierra Leone. Let us put behind our backs the ugly past and turn to a new chapter. ‘Lonta!’
