Sponor's update from Tete, Mozambique

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Tete, Mozambique from November 2008.

Dear Sponsor,

The SOS Children’s Village Tete community is very happy for the opportunity of writing you this letter as it enables it to give you few information regarding to the SOS Children’s Village Tete, the children, the Nursery School and the school at SOS Children’s Village Tete.

Before we go any further, we would like to thank you very much for your kind and permanent support that helps us to improve the well-being of the children in terms of diet, health, clothing and education as well as the living in this SOS Children’s Village Tete. We really appreciate this kind-hearted support.

Currently the village is taking care of 155 children accommodated in 15 family houses under the guardian of 15 mothers. They are 72 girls and 83 boys. 150 SOS children were learning at SOS School this year 2008 and 4 children from the family houses were learning at SOS Nursery School over which 3 are girls and 1 boy. 2 children with learning difficulties were studying along the year and the report from craft school says that they did well during the learning year.

Apart from the family houses we have the male and female youth facilities. At the female youth facility they are 5 girls while at the male youth facility they are 17 boys under the guardian of a female and male youth leaders respectively. They are having an independent life as they separated from the children from the family houses. The girls’ youth facility is located inside the Village while the male youth facility is within the surrounding communities.

Through the Child development planning process 5 boys and four girls from the family houses will be transferred soon to the youth facility by end of December. In order to fulfil the number of children who will leave the family houses 20 children will be admitted into the village.

Children's education in Mozambique

The SOS Nursery School has enrolled 100 children this year, a figure which is divided into 3 age groups namely 3, 4 and 5 years old children.

The total numbers counts the children from the surrounding communities and the children from the SOS Village. According to the information from the periodical nursery school report a higher percentage of children are positive.

The SOS School has enrolled (1500) pupils divided into 12 grades, that is, from 1 to 12. A higher percentage pupils is positive as well although few of the pupils faced some difficulties a situation which was immediately overcome due to hard work from the teachers and the village educator. The family strengthening programme is caring several programmes towards the achievement of the core objective which is to avoid child abandonment. The most achievement is based on education. There is high promotion of project ownership and participation of educational guardians in most school involvement. Children at nursery school owned by SOS under community nursery school had language problems but as of now they can speak Portuguese fluently.

As such, children from the village and surrounding community have now started learning computers with aid of family strengthening Programme. The lessons are conducted in the morning and afternoon. This year the family strengthening Programme handed over a community school in Tete and the school was provided with new desks

Events in Tete, Mozambique

Most of the children are enjoying the end of year school holidays that go up to the February. Some of the children are writing end of year exams which started on the 3rd November and will terminate on the 14th. In the following week the pupils will go for oral exams in Portuguese, English and French, especially the children in grades that these subjects are contained in the curriculum. We are happy because SOS children are doing very well at school.

After the exams all the children will be enjoying very long holidays and they will need a lot of entertainments. Some of them will be under SOS family strengthening program learning some professional functions like black smith, carpentry and tailoring.

The SOS Nursery School principal has already prepared a list of children who are to attend primary education next year. The philosophy from Social Welfare has been carry out in order to help those children with learning difficulties so as to evaluate their probability to start grade one next year.

In the preparation for the forthcoming festivals most of the children have started having rehearsals in dancing, ornamentations and in several activities that might make fun for SOS community at Christmas and New Year celebrations. In order to maintain the children fit, the village is organising friendly matches both for the male and female teams within the village. The teams have been playing soccer and basketball between themselves and with the surrounding communities.

We would like to conclude this letter by thanking you once again for all the support that you are handing to this SOS Village for the better stay of the children. We wish you a best moment at Christmas and New Year.

Yours Sincerely

Fernando Lunga
Village Interim Director