CAMBRIDGE, England, January 19 /PRNewswire/ -- SOS Children emergency relief teams including child trauma specialists from the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica have arrived at the SOS Children's Village in Santo, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

As well as the shipment of ten tons of food, water, medicine and tents, the SOS Children emergency relief programme includes the arrival of specialist psychologists and social workers who will help children cope with their trauma and where possible, reunite children separated from their families. The SOS Children's Village in Santo will provide temporary emergency shelter for children and families and will also act as a mobile clinic; equipment and medical staff are due to arrive today.

SOS Children, who has two Children's Villages in Haiti, works in the country long-term so will if needed, (and it looks likely), provide a long-term home for children who have been orphaned by the catastrophe. Andrew Cates, SOS Children CEO says: In an international emergency of this kind, there is a high degree of co-operation with different charities focusing on their core competences. As the world's largest orphan charity, with some 78,000 children in our care, SOS Children always ends up providing support for the children orphaned by disasters. The needs of a child whose family and home have been destroyed in an earthquake extend long beyond immediate medical and trauma care. The right response to the situation of such a child is a chance of a family-based childhood. The nature of the work of other charities is a quick patch-up and move on, but we are long-term. Donors who make a longer term commitment to our work in Haiti, including child sponsors, recognise the needs of a child extending through into independence and they help by giving the child love and a future.

SOS Children has been working in Haiti since 1978 and provides a family for life for children who have lost their parents through war, famine, disease, natural disaster and poverty. Over 78,000 orphaned and abandoned children are currently cared for by SOS mothers in clusters of family homes in more than 500 of Children's Villages in 124 countries worldwide. Thousands more children benefit from SOS Children's outreach support which includes education, vocational training, medical care and community development programmes.

Haiti is the one of the poorest countries in the world and is struggling to recover from years of violence, insecurity and massive natural disasters. Port au Prince was still recovering from tropical storms in November 2008 which destroyed 10,000 homes and made many more homeless.

On our website, you can read an interview with our National Director of Haiti, Mr, Celigny Darius, who was himself caught in a collapsing building; as well as how we plan to help children cope with the trauma of this catastrophe.

Celigny Darius, National Director of SOS Children's Villages in Haiti says The most urgent thing needed is medical supplies, especially painkillers, because many have been severely injured and the main hospital isn't operational - people are dying in the streets. Nothing is open in the capital and people are afraid to enter buildings out of fear it might collapse at any moment. Since people are sleeping on the streets and ran from their houses with only the shirts on their backs, there is also a need for clothing.

If you would like to interview any of our field staff in Haiti please get in touch with Doris Kirchebner doris.kirchebner@sos-kd.org

To donate to our Haiti emergency appeal, please visit http://www.soschildren.org or call +44(0)1223-365-589.

Notes for Editors:

- SOS Children CEO Andrew Cates and Director of Development Kathie Neal, are available for interviews and comment. Mr. Carlos Sibaja, Regional Advisor for Management at the SOS Regional Office in Costa Rica, is also available for interviews and can be reached at Carlos.Sibaja@sos-kd.org or over the phone at Tel. +506-2283-2301, ext. 114. - SOS Children will spend 100% of all funds generated by the appeal to helping children and families in Haiti, with absolutely no deductions for UK costs such as administration or fundraising - For more information, images and interview requests, please contact Elizabeth Rodgers, Press and Communications Manager, SOS Children, elizabeth@soschildren.org or +44(0)1223-365-589

SOURCE: SOS Children

CONTACT: For more information, images and interview requests, pleasecontact Elizabeth Rodgers, Press and Communications Manager, SOS Children,elizabeth@soschildren.org or +44(0)1223-365-589