Tianjin, China (2012) | Education

Donation of Marquard & Bahls Enables 138 Children from SOS Children's Village to Attend School or Vocational Training

Support of SOS Children’s Villages

Instead of giving its employees and customers Christmas presents, for years Marquard & Bahls has donated 50,000 euros per year to good causes. In 2012, the money went to the SOS Children’s Village in Tianjin, China, established in 1987. The SOS Children’s Village offers children, mainly orphans, from northern China a new home under the care of their SOS mothers and helpers. Today, 138 children live in large extended families at the SOS Children’s Village. In addition, there is an SOS Kindergarten and an SOS Youth Facility with eight shared houses, where a total of 32 teens currently live. When the young people move into this facility, they usually also start a vocational training program or go on to higher education. In this new environment, they develop their future prospects under the guidance of qualified educators, learn to shoulder responsibility, and increasingly make their own decisions. A good education, counseling and training usually enable the young men and women to successfully obtain their graduation certificates. The aim is to enable them to go to university or learn a craftsman’s trade, depending on their aptitude. The donation enabled all the children at the SOS Children’s Village in Tianjin to attend school or training for a year: It paid for school fees, classroom materials as well as the cost of vocational training for the teens.