Previous collaboration between HSBC and SOS

98% of homes in Peraliya, a fishing village to the south of Colombo in Sri Lanka, were destroyed by the tsunami. SOS immediately provided care, food, shelter and medicine for the victims, but rebuilding the community was, in many ways, an even more challenging task. HSBC contributed US$550,000 toward a social centre in Peraliya to assist with the rebuilding process.

The social centre opened in spring 2007. Facilities include a nursery school, library, medical centre and IT classrooms, and the centre will run a family strengthening programme, similar to the one in the Ukraine.

• Nursery school - pre-school education for 60 children in the village;
• Medical centre - basic medical care for children and families;
• Library and IT training centre - educational resources help to increase literacy levels, computer training and job hunting skills for both children and adults;
• Family strengthening programme - helping parents find better employment and helping provide school fees and equipment for the children.

The social centre is manned by ten staff members and supported by the local government; it provides direct support to 200 children and wider support to the community. If another tsunami or similar disaster ever occurs, the centre will also act as an emergency shelter.

There are 34 SOS Children's Villages in India plus facilities for Tibetan children, outreach programmes, and other care services. All together, nearly 80,000 children are supported by SOS in India. HSBC is involved with SOS Children's Villages in New Delhi, Jaipur and Kochi. We have supported the villages through donations, staff involvement and aid in emergency relief. For example: US$7,000 was given in 2006 to support 50 children under the Family Strengthening Programme in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1999 HSBC funded the cost of a new family home in the SOS Children's Village in Irbid. Since then, the SOS family that lives in this house has become part of the larger HSBC family. HSBC provides for the financial running of the house - so far nearly US$160,000. They also provide clothing, blankets and other general requirements for the children, including a computer and printer. The family are often treated to a meal by bank employees or invited to HSBC functions.

The SOS Children's Village in Ksarnaba, in the Bekaa Valley, was built in 2005 and HSBC donated US$57,000 toward the building of the social centre. The centre addresses socio-economic issues in the surrounding community, specifically the causes that lead to child abandonment. This involves working with and supporting families through a community approach.

HSBC has also provided funding for a family house in the SOS Children's Village in Ksarnaba which was completed in April 2006. Since then, HSBC has given a bus to the social centre and HSBC's employees in Lebanon get personally involved with the village through a payroll giving scheme, donating more than US$130 per month to the village.

Beginning in 2004, HSBC in Pakistan has provided a summer camp for the children from the SOS Village in Karachi. The week-long programme involves painting, carpentry, music lessons (including a concert at the end of the week), and team-building and self-confidence exercises. More than 150 children from the village attend every year and in 2006, the invitation was extended to local hearing and speech impaired children.

The camp is organised by local volunteers and supported by HSBC employees.

HSBC in Mauritius has been supporting SOS Children’s Villages since 2003 by sponsoring a special class for children facing academic difficulties. In 2006, HSBC expanded this support to a vocational education training scheme.

Periodically, HSBC finds other ways to support SOS Children’s Villages in their valuable work:

• Christmas credit card donation - In December 2005 and 2006, HSBC in Mauritius partnered with MasterCard to support SOS Children’s Villages. Every time an HSBC customer used their card in December, HSBC and MasterCard each made a donation to SOS Children’s Villages. In 2006, this amounted to more than US$6,300.
• Helping Hands – This volunteer organisation of HSBC employees sent a committee of 20 people to the SOS Children’s Village in Beau Bassin to share their cooking tips and spend time with the 100 children and their SOS mothers at the village. A dozen dishes were prepared – from chocolate cake to tandoori chicken. The children learned a lot and had a great time with the HSBC volunteers.