Sponsor's update from Ladimirevci, Croatia

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci, Croatia from Winter 2008.

Dear sponsors of SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci,

As the end of the calendar year is drawing nearer, the days are getting colder, but our children, wrapped in colorful scarves and protected by warm hats and gloves, have no problem defying the chilly weather. Before we get into more detail about winter, however, a few words about our earlier activities might be in order: we had a very eventful and lively summer in SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci, with swimming and aquatic games being the favorite activities of our children. Our SOS families spent a lot of their time at the nearby public pools, where we have free entrance. Swimming was also extremely popular during the ten beautiful days we spent in the seaside town of Rogoznica near Šibenik. We stayed at the Red Cross resort, just like last year. Still, not everyone enjoyed the perfect life of leisure while waiting for the new school year to begin. The youngsters from the SOS Youth Communities had part time jobs at the seaside, working hard to gain valuable work experience.

The first day of school went by without a hitch. Children returned from school with brand new textbooks. Even though most of their efforts are focused on homework and their studies, our children still find the time to express their creativity in the art, literary and drama workshops. Many of them are also long-time members of various sports clubs. Their creative efforts have already resulted in numerous beautiful paintings, decorative items, new theatrical performances and interesting articles waiting to be published in our SOS Children's Village newspaper, the first issue of which is scheduled to appear at the beginning of next year. In addition to organizing various leisure activities, we also work with children who need additional help. We put a great deal of importance on providing courses intended both for children and adults.

Once a month, we learn about topics such as responsible parenting and advancement of non-violent communication in the Children's Village. Our children use the skills they developed in peer mediation workshops to resolve conflicts. We also regularly write about these issues and discuss them among ourselves. We make sure to share our experiences with teachers and expert workers in the local elementary school as well, joining forces so that we can positively influence the development of children and help them form positive values and develop necessary skills.

During the holiday season, our SOS families will gather in their SOS houses. Children big and small, high school students and young adults living in semi-independent program will all come together to relive cherished memories with their SOS mothers, surrounded by the scent of baking cookies in the supportive environment filled with love and understanding.

We will be thinking of you as well, thanking you for always being there for us and ensuring that children without adequate parental care can have a happy childhood in SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci.

I wish you much joy and happiness in the New Year.

Zoran Relić
Director