Sneha Bhuyan was just three months old when she arrived at an SOS Children’s Village in Guwahati, India. She had been abandoned by her family, leaving her vulnerable to a life of hunger and exploitation. Instead, Sneha found a safe, warm and welcoming home on a beautiful green campus.
She received healthy food, medical care, education and most importantly, the love of an SOS mother who raised her to adulthood. “My SOS mother loved me and we had wonderful staff who were like family,” says Sneha, now 20 and in college. “I loved and cherished everything about my life at SOS.”
Sneha is just one of many children who have been helped by SOS Children’s Villages — the world’s largest charity devoted to providing a safe, warm and loving home for orphaned and abandoned children in the some of the world’s poorest countries. And as Sneha can attest, that support continues long after children “graduate” from care.
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“My career counsellor and other caregivers from SOS Children’s Villages put a lot of effort into shaping the person I am today,” she says. “When my competency test showed I would feel good in human resources, they encouraged me to explore the topic.”
At 18, Sneha moved into a residential college to pursue a business administration degree. But soon after she started, COVID-19 hit.
“It was an emotionally difficult time, and it took me a while to adjust to the change,” she recalls. “I thought I wasn’t productive enough. I was doubting myself and feeling like I wasn’t good at anything. I needed a mentor to guide me in my professional life.”
Fortunately, Sneha still had close ties with SOS. When she heard about the organization’s YouthCan! program, she applied and was chosen. The program aims to empower young people with alternative care experiences as they transition into the working world, and for Sneha, it has made all the difference.
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“I had a chance to take part in different activities such as mentoring, advocacy, skills training and a business English course,” she says.
Now when she has negative thoughts, she steers her mind to the positives and seeks out people who can listen. She also thinks back on the older children from SOS Children’s Villages.
“Seeing them succeed motivated me,” Sneha says. “I hope to be able to do the same for my younger sisters and brothers.”
As a member of the SOS youth advisory board, Sneha has played a key role in YouthCan, and she feels privileged to be able to mentor the next generation of grads. “To all the young people out there who are struggling entering the world of work, I just want to say: ‘You got this,’” she says. “Things will turn out fine very soon.”
As for the people who raised her at SOS Children’s Villages, Sneha still talks to them every day. “I pick their brains with my curiosity,” she says. “And they all indulge me. I have a strong bond with my caregivers and the young people I grew up with — this will never change.”
SOS Children’s Villages takes a holistic child-centred approach to help children, families, and communities succeed in the long term. It strengthens families to prevent child abandonment, provides loving homes for children who lack parental care, educates, and empowers children like Sneha to reach their full potential, and advocates for children’s rights so their voices can be heard.
