Dr. Dereje Wordofa on Thursday won the SOS presidential election. Wordofa won the election with 90 percent votes and was elected unopposed.
Dr. Dereje Wordofa was a top contender for the president of the SOS Children Villages International. Perhaps, his vast experience as international civil servant gave him additional advantaged over other aspirants, who subsequently, stepped down for him to stand as consensus candidate in the election.
Wordofa had a lucid manifesto with commitment to align his beliefs with the vision and organisational values of the Federation, as well ameliorating on the legacy policies of past presidents to make every child count in the SOS Children Villages International Federation. He brought new hope to members of the humanitarian community, with pronounced commitment to ensure every child belongs to a family and no child is left out because of accident of misfortune.
Wordofa received overwhelming support from all members who nominated for the President of the SOS Children Villages International Federation. He had assured that the manifesto reflects his “motivation, commitment, viewpoints, vision, and priorities with concrete actions to achieve a shared vision of the Federation, to continue transforming the lives of children and families worldwide.”
The emergent President anchored his manifesto on the dreams and legacy of Hermann Gmeiner, the founding father of SOS Children’s Villages, with abiding aspiration to build on the achievements of Helmut Kutin, the first President, who led the Federation for many years with devotion and great acumen. The emergent president also commended the immediate predecessor, Siddhartha Kaul, for tirelessly working for the organization and has done so much good for vulnerable children.
Wordofa is deeply imbued with impulse of humility, inspiration, enthusiasm, courage, and excitement to all stakeholders of the Federation.
The emergent President of the Federation reaffirmed that his beliefs are well aligned with the vision and organisational values of the Federation – Courage, Commitment, Trust, and Accountability; as well as his passion for interventionist humanitarian services to provide succour for vulnerable people and children uncared for in the society.
“I have always been passionate about working for a good cause that changes people’s lives for the better and SOS Children’s Villages is the right organization that can allow me to live my values.
“I do believe SOS Children’s Villages has made positive impact on the lives of children because it has a great vision with which I can eagerly be affiliated, Wordofa had declared.
Wordofa is bringing on board his leadership competence in governance, strategic decision making, team leadership, diplomatic skills, multicultural sympathy, and resilience. These are in addition to his ability to network and communicate with a wide audience – communities, partner organisations, donors, decision makers and policy makers at the highest levels is an asset for effective leadership of the SOS Children Villages International Federation.
There are higher expectations of innovative leadership and humanitarian services with the new President of the Federation.