Sponsor's update from Penonomé, Panama

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Penonomé, Panama from December 2008.

Dear Sponsor:

Receive a warm greeting from all the boys and girls of the SOS Children’s Village Penonome.

Christmas time is a time of peace, love and joy for our children. In the SOS Children's Village Penonome all of the children are waiting with great enthusiasm for Christmas day. Each SOS mother and SOS aunt (SOS mother trainee) prepares their houses and buys “foquitos” (tiny Christmas lights) to decorate their homes with the children.

Our village now has 121 boys and girls in 14 SOS family houses, this year we received a baby girl of only 5 months old, the youngest of this SOS village and a group of siblings who had a warm reception in their new SOS home.

This year we are moving eight young people to the SOS youth facilities, three to the ladies youth facility and five to the young men facility. These young people started this transfer process throughout the year, attended an induction process with speeches about main issues for the youth development.

To help these young people to become independent, they have been oriented to get a job in the Cocle Province (where Penonome is the main city) or in the capital city of the country. The youth leader (that accompanies young people to become independent) had a very important role in this orientation, as he is the one who guides them to keep their jobs and continue their academic studies.

Learning is another priority issue for our children and young people. In some special cases of children who have learning disabilities, SOS mothers have looked for support from special teachers. Two youths are in a reinforcement course for math, they have some difficulties in this subject and another two are taking advanced English language courses to enter to the university.

This year six young people are graduating from secondary first level (ninth grade) and three young people are graduating from high school and will enter to college. They are interested in studying careers in tourism and law.

Education for children in Penonomé, Panama

We are working with 10 to 13 years girls on counselling in self-esteem, personal hygiene, sexuality and other issues of great importance. We have the support of the social workers university practitioners that made their pre-professional practices with young people from ages 14 to 16 years, who are in the induction program to the youth communities to become independent.

Here in Panama, last grade (sixth and twelfth grade) elementary and secondary students respectively, who have good grades, replace their teacher or professors for one day on October 27, national student’s day. On that date, two secondary students replaced their agriculture and physical education teachers and two sixth grade children replaced their elementary school teachers. Another two young students marched in the honour roll with their secondary school in the patriotic parades in the month of November, as a distinction for their good academic performance.

SOS Mothers and SOS youths took baking and crafts courses. Two SOS mothers, Migdalia and Xenia, continued in the course of educated mothers in which they have addressed issues of vital importance to the children’s education and they have put it into practice in their homes and in their daily lives. Another two SOS mothers have taken seminars on adolescent sexuality management and alcohol and drug abuse. This last one was also taken by the youth community leader.

School mid-term holidays in August were a lot of fun. Here in Panama the public schools classes start in March and end in December; our summer time also called dry season is from December to March. Five SOS families went to Santa Clara beach (that is at one hour from the SOS children’s village Penonome) and ten groups of siblings shared with their biological family for one week.

Every child who gets into a SOS family has an SOS mother while they keep in touch with their own biological family. Eighty percent of children here visit their families during the summer holidays and relatives come to visit them every three months. In this way, children maintain good communication with their biological family.

Also over the holidays some SOS mothers had picnics outside their homes, others took their children for walks and some SOS families made trips to bathe in the local Zarati and Sonadora rivers.

Events at Penonomé, Panama

Twenty five young people attended a gathering of SOS youth programmes Panama and Penonome, where they had sports events and shared a luncheon together with their SOS youth leaders who organized the event.

SOS children participated on September 21, in the global peace games. We held a sporting event with different schools of our local community and the children from the SOS village were integrated into the schools they are attending. After the game, we share a small “brindis” (a light meal with refreshments and snacks) with all the guests. Children, SOS mothers, and co-workers signed a peace manifesto. A woman reporter from the local newspaper “El Vigia” gave coverage of this special day.

By the end of this year, four young people will get their Catholic confirmation, nine children will receive the sacrament of their first communion, and 13 are still in the preparatory instruction for First Communion next year. SOS mothers are involved in the novenas of María Auxiliadora (Our Lady Help of Christians), Divine Child and Don Bosco.

This year, seven young people became independent from youth facilities, four are young ladies and three are young men. Some of them like: Catherine, a 21 years old young woman, graduated from higher technical education in construction and continued with a bachelor's degree. She became independent and lives by herself and is near to get a stable job. Carlos is working at this moment as a salesman in a store in the Herrera province and at the same time is studying a college degree in advertising and marketing. Mariela is working at a prestigious restaurant in Panama City, while she is continuing her secondary studies.

Thank you for the unconditional support given to us during this whole year. Without your significant collaboration made to our children and youth we would not have achieved many of their dreams and desires. We pray that the mighty God will bless you all and enlighten you and your family during this so special time that is Christmas and New Year and that you will have in your hearts peace, love and joy to share with all your loved ones.

Dimas Montenegro
Village director