Long-term and sustainable partnership with ESPRIT

During an international press conference to commemorate the “68/08 Summer Celebration” on the 40th anniversary of Esprit in July 2008 Thomas Marschall from SOS Children’s Villages Worldwide and Heinz Krogner, Chairman and CEO of Esprit announced their cooperation: the construction of a complete SOS Children’s Village in Alibaug, south of Mumbai. The aim of the village project is to have a wide radius of effectivity in the surrounding areas, thus having a positive influence on the whole region.

As the construction work on the village could only begin after the monsoon rains in October, Esprit also made a contribution during the transition period. They provided extensive assistance to the SOS Neighbourhood Support in the Delhi area. Six SOS family programmes were sponsored there, which provide immediate help and long-term support to 10,000 people around the villages. The aim of this SOS programme is to rescue families that are at risk of severe poverty, social hardship and dissolution. The participating families leave the programmes stronger and are then also in a position to give their children a safe and loving home in the future.

The long-term partnership, which is substantiated by the abovementioned projects, is entering a new phase. “The partnership with Esprit is characterised by a particularly serious and active commitment on their part and the fact that they really want to make a difference with joint projects,” says Thomas Marschall from SOS Children’s Villages Worldwide.

“Our success obliges us to make a contribution. It’s important for us to give something back to the people” is how the Esprit company describes its motivation for the cooperation with SOS.

From 2010, 14 family houses will provide a new home for more than 140 children at the new SOS Children’s Village in Alibaug near Mumbai. The first children will move in from April 2010, followed by more in subsequent months. The concept also includes a kindergarten with enough space for a total of 60 children from the village and neighbouring communities. A social centre will also be built and will become the home of the Family Strengthening Programme for families from the neighbourhood, which will be run from the village: in the future over 500 women and their children will be able to come here for advice, support, education and medical care.