WHO ARE WE?

This post is a reply to a request by one of our brothers to explain what SOBGA is and also to address another brother’s comment below.

“Where and what are other SOGBA members doing to save SOS? Ever since it was formed,only one member is active and we do appreciate. Are the rest waiting for someone to die, may the good Lord forbid, so they can call their 'family members ' for the Ksh 5000 house contribution? SOGBA representatived,you either save your home or break the group!!! 16 Houses and only ONE member is active!!!!! Be real SOGBA!”

-Fredrick Orinda

I will first thank you all for taking your time to engage in this discussion. I believe in the exchange of ideas and opinions. I have to also apologize for being remiss in our duties as older generations of SOS youth to educate our younger brothers and sisters on the paths we have taken before that they may be taking at the moment. This question should not have been asked if that duty had been done.

So, what is SOBGA?

SOBGA is the acronym for SOS Old Boys and Girls Association.

Who are the members?

I believe membership is by virtue of being a former SOS youth within the Kenyan villages where the association is based. I believe this one qualifier makes us all former SOS youth members. So SOBGA is you and me. We are SOBGA.

SOBGA was formed to address different issues that we face as former SOS youth. One of the main purposes was to work as a united front instead of resorting to anonymous letters to the administration when issues arise. There was also need for protection from persecution of members for whistle blowing. For example, our Brother Isaac’s recent attempted arrest. Thanks Izzo for your endeavors in bringing issues to light.

Essentially, SOBGA was to act as the bridge between SOS the organization and SOS the community. These two entities have to work together for progress to happen. The fact of the matter is that we both need to coexist, that is the reason we need moderation and tact in handling our issues. You cannot cut off your nose to spite your face. We have younger brothers and sisters still in the system that we need to think of. Their very survival depends on it.

I believe your first question has been answered Orinda, since we do have different SOS children and youth at different levels trying to affect change. Change is not always a result of visible actions. Wind can effect a change as destructive as water and yet it is not visible to the eye. Let’s not squabble over who seems more active. We need to have a unity of purpose. Our business is to see that things are running as they should be in our home.

Your reference to the contributions we make during funerals is what elicited an apology from me. Before this arrangement funerals for our brothers and sisters were riddled with financial challenges. You were obviously too young at the time to feel the weight of the inability to fulfill a brother’s last rites of passage. This present arrangement is the solution that seems to have worked so far. What part of this arrangement irks you the most? How do you suggest we should change it? If you have another solution we are willing to hear you out.

Now that we have established that we former SOS youth are all representative of that entity SOBGA let us all show some unity of purpose and stop pulling each other down like crabs in a pot. Let us also engage with each other and find workable solutions to our problems.

It saddens me to make this post today. The cause of my consternation is that if all the claims I put forth are true, then we as SOS have diverged so far from our founder’s dream and vision; that we should find ourselves a different name. A quote that comes to mind is:

 "Men, like nails, lose their usefulness when they lose direction and begin to bend."

Walter Savage Landor

Are we as an organization losing our usefulness? 

The SOS vision states that, “Every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security.” Sounds simple yes, but it seems the people on the ground have become increasingly confused by its meaning. One thing we need to keep in mind is that as an organization, we are major contributors in the creation of policies related to children so we cannot preach what we do not practice. Our organization should be at the forefront in the fight for children’s basic rights. We should not be the perpetrators of abuse of the children directly through our employees, or indirectly through our policies.

Rampant misappropriation of funds

Food is one of the basic rights that we as an organization have the ability to protect, and should be protecting. Unfortunately, this is one of the areas we are failing miserably. Funds for food are received two week into the month; and in some cases three weeks into the month. Apart from food being a basic right, shouldn't we have in place a mechanism for disbursing funds with minimal cash handling to deter mismanagement of funds?  If an item was on the budget to begin with, why is the money being diverted, or withheld? Is it a policy for our organization to replace funds for food with donations? If this is the case who decides on the monetary value on the donation and what is done with the diverted funds?

Sexual Abuse

Given the nature of our business, we should have zero tolerance on sexual abuse. We need to be non-negotiable in cases involving sexual abuse because our vision expects us to provide security to the children. The major reason to have such a policy is because there is a huge potential for “Quid pro Quo”harassment, that is sexual favors in exchange for benefits. We have seen cases of administrators who had sex relations with all and sundry, youth and mothers included.  Such a situation is highly unethical and a health hazard; in some courts such an individual can be charged with felonious assault, especially if a disease was spread in the act.

Conflict of interest

It is wrong for our employees to use SOS as the main market for their business activities, especially so, if they happen to be the same party directly involved in the sourcing of the services. For example, a PR manager sourcing services from their own PR firm. Need I say more?

Nepotism

Is it true that our hiring process is hacked? If this is so, the solution is as simple as getting a new firm to do the job. From a management point of view, this is one of the reasons for low quality output, entitlement and corruption. Our processes as an organization should have enough flexibility to allow for such a change without interruption to our daily business.

Talking about our hiring process, I would wish to see the day when our National Directors present their mission for the organization upon their assumption of office. This mission should be hung up in a central place in all the projects and at the end of their term be evaluated based on it before rehire. This will encourage transparency and accountability.

In conclusion, as an organization we need to go back to the basics of our mission in child care. We need systems of accountability to be put in place at all levels of our organization. We need red tape reduced for processes that are crucial in the running of our organization. We need ethical administrators to implement our vision and all the project players need to be on the same page with regards to our goals and mission. 

Let’s all strive to remember to maintain our usefulness.