June 13 2007
One of the 6 villages for 2006 to open in Vietnam
13/06/2007 - The second of the six SOS Children's Villages, which are being funded by money raised at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, will open in Dong Hoi in Vietnam on 15 June 2007. Some of the high-profile guests invited are former German football player Thomas Helmer and his wife - actress Yasmina Filali. Both are sponsoring the village, which will give 120 Vietnamese children a new home.
The village is buzzing - the children are excited and are waiting in anticipation. A high-profile visit is planned for Friday 15 June: former German football player Thomas Helmer and his wife, actress Yasmina Filali, are coming to the official opening of the second World Cup children's village along with their manager and camera woman. The highlight for the children is bound to be the football match that they are scheduled to play with the football star after the official opening ceremony.
The new village has twelve family houses and an SOS Kindergarten, where up to 180 children can be cared for. The village is located in one of the poorest provinces in the country. According to official statistics, the province has more than a thousand orphaned children under the age of 14, but the real number is thought to be significantly higher. So far, the village has been able to provide a home for 67 children.
Thomas Helmer has been a voluntary FIFA/SOS ambassador since 1997 and is travelling to Vietnam with his wife Yasmina Filali esspecially for the opening of the second World Cup children's village.
The ambitious goal of SOS Children's Villages and the international football association FIFA was to collect enough donations during and around the time of the 2006 Football World Cup to build six new SOS Children's Villages and finance their upkeep. Three of the six villages have now been completed and two have been officially opened.