Community Development

Investing in people means investing in their community.

In underdeveloped communities,
children are at risk.

Investing in people means investing in their community.

Social transformation happens as once-vulnerable children mature into well-rounded adults who help develop the communities around them.

Ava’s Story

Ava* was an at-risk child living in an underdeveloped community. An SOS team met Ava when she was 6-years-old while they were addressing her community’s lack of clean water. 

In the process of building relationships and providing clean water, the SOS team began to see the other issues in Ava’s underdeveloped community. Ava and all her friends were incredibly malnourished. The literacy rate in her community was terrifyingly low. And her parents were struggling to find work. Children in Ava’s community weren’t attending school, and without community development, Ava was going to face the same struggles that generations before her have faced.

The SOS team then partnered with a Local Care Network to develop Ava’s community, and today it looks completely different. 

Every child in Ava’s community is now attending school. Ava and her friends even became the community’s first generation to go to college, and some of them have gone on to earn master’s degrees. Every family now has enough food to eat and nearby access to safe, clean drinking water. Through community development, Ava went from being an at-risk child with little hope to becoming a contributing member of a thriving community.

Why We Care About Community Development

Developing communities helps secure at-risk children and transform their lives. Through community development, we’re able to develop holistic, sustainable solutions that bring about widespread transformation that changes lives and creates the conditions for children to grow into healthy, productive adults.

How We Develop Communities

SOS partners with Local Care Networks to develop local solutions to local problems. We help equip Local Care Networks to invest in higher education, vocational training, infrastructure and capacity projects. This allows us to build and grow communities through human capital and locally fostered resources.

By combatting human trafficking, providing basic needs like food and water, giving children access to quality education and more—we holistically address the issues that make children at-risk.

You Can Make a Difference

Without the critical resources children need to grow and develop into thriving adults, communities end up trapped in poverty. 

Your gift helps create strong communities that can provide the resources, tools and opportunities to prepare their children for a better future.

*Names changed to protect minors.