Admission Criteria

Criteria for admission must be strictly enforced. If an ineligible child is admitted the National Office will issue instructions for removal.

• Age of admission is new born to 10 years. In exceptional cases the upper limit may be relaxed by a couple of years for an older sibling, particularly a female, or a boy who has had regular schooling.
• Mentally challenged and hearing impaired children are not eligible for admission because they require specialized care. However, physically handicapped may be admitted if they are able to cope on their own.
• Children whose mothers have re-married and who are not accepted by the stepfather are eligible for admission. So are those whose mothers have an incurable or infectious disease e.g. cancer, mental illness or tuberculosis. These children we categorize as social orphans.
• One should be sympathetic to those whose mothers have died and, due to some special reason, the father is incapable of maintaining a family - he may be a drug addict, mentally challenged or have an incurable disease. Otherwise they are not eligible. This category must be carefully checked as it can be misused, with the father going on to re-marry and starting a new family. Every case should be checked thoroughly as wrong affidavits are often presented in order to gain admission.
• Normally children above 10 years are not accepted, but in deserving cases this could be relaxed, particularly if a group of siblings is involved. Older girls should be sympathetically considered because, otherwise, they will most likely be used as household help, in the family or outside.
• We are regularly approached by prison authorities to admit children of incarcerated women. Only those children whose mothers have been given a death sentence or life imprisonment can be considered for admission. Others may not be admitted as SOS is not a temporary boarding facility.