Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard Join SOS Children's Villages
Posted on October 2, 2010
Maggie Gyllenhaal and her husband, actor Peter Sarsgaard, are to act as global ambassadors for a new project by international charity organization, SOS Children's Villages and global lifestyle brand, Esprit. The charitable effort will see 140 abandoned Indian children housed and provide support to poverty stricken families to keep them together.
In 2008 SOS Children's Villages and Esprit committed to a long-term partnership to help children in India and worldwide. The focus of this partnership is to prevent children from being abandoned by their parents. Currently Esprit supports six SOS Children's Villages Family Strengthening Projects around Delhi that aim at building capacity in families, improving education, and providing much needed medical services. In Alibaug, south of Mumbai, a new village has been built with 14 family houses for over 140 children completely financed by Esprit.
Maggie sauys, "Despite the dynamic economic advances India has enjoyed in recent times, it may be hard to accept that India has the largest population of street children in the world with at least 18 million children living or working on the streets of urban India. There are approximately 250,000 in Mumbai alone. The street kids in Mumbai and elsewhere in the world are denied the right to a family and the right to grow up with love and security. Protecting children's rights is a universal responsibility that requires global commitment from us all. It's a privilege for Peter and myself to join hands with Esprit and promote the remarkable work of SOS Children's Villages, which for the past sixty years has continued to provide children worldwide; love, security and a nurturing environment that only a family can provide."